Where Are They Now?
During Dublin graduate Ida Davis’ 25-year career with Sears, she worked her way up to human resources center manager. “I worked with some really nice people,” she said. “When I retired, I never missed the regimen of getting up and going to work, but I miss the people.”
After she graduated from Dublin High School in 1952, Davis moved to Dallas to study at Draughons business college. When she graduated, she started working at Texas Hosiery Company.
“I was a stenographer,” she said. “My main duty was taking shorthand. It was a family-owned organization, and the father of the owner liked to put out a weekly letter. He had me take it down in shorthand and then transcribe it.”
While working there, one of Davis’ coworkers at Texas Hosiery set her up on a blind date. Davis and her date, Clifford Jones, took to one another immediately, and two months later they were married.
After she left Texas Hosiery, Davis briefly worked for a steel company, which she did not enjoy, and then found a job she loved at Sears. “I was a secretary in the real estate department, and then I moved from real estate to personnel, and then eventually worked up to manager of human resources,” she said.
Sears had thousands of employees, so managing human resources was a busy job. “We had an office with the personnel files of all the people in retail in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico and part of Arkansas,” Davis said. “We had 28,000 personnel files. It was a big job, but I enjoyed it.”
While working at Sears, Davis inherited her family farm from her parents, which is around 12 miles outside of Dublin, near Carlton. It had been in her family since 1939, and Davis hoped to keep it. She and her husband moved out to Dublin from Dallas parttime, and started up a cattle ranch.
Davis kept her job at Sears and her house in Dallas, and commuted back and forth until she retired in 1992, at age 58. Her husband passed away in 1999.
Davis met her second husband, George Davis, through church several years later, and the couple moved to Athens, Texas. “We were active in the church of Christ,” she said. “He was an elder in the church and so we kept pretty busy with church activities.”
When her husband began to have trouble with his health, the Davis’ moved into an assisted living facility. George passed away in 2020, and Davis moved in with her oldest daughter, who lives in Carrollton.
Davis had two children with her first husband, a daughter and a son. Her son passed away two years ago from cancer, and Davis is still close with his family. “My daughter-in-law is a real jewel,” she said. “When my daughter can’t take me someplace, my daughter-inlaw can. They take good care of me.”
Davis has four grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
In her free time, Davis enjoys learning about new technologies. “I always worked with the computer a lot,” she said. “I have a new iPhone 13 that I love to play with. Of course, I’m 87 years old and I’ve had people tease me that for my age I am fairly technically capable.”
Throughout her life, Davis has been a loyal member of the Church of Christ. Her faith has helped her through good times and bad. “I think it’s helped me especially in the past year,” she said. “I’ve had some health problems, and it’s been hard for me to cope with the illnesses and disabilities that I’ve had.”
Davis’ advice to Dublin graduates is to be honest. “When I was in a management position at Sears, I always told people, ‘I may not tell you everything but I will always tell you the truth,’” she said.
She also emphasized the importance of trusting in yourself and your abilities. “Always believe in yourself,” she said. “Have the confidence that you can do what you want.”
Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@dublincitizen.com.