William Davenport

William "Harold" Davenport, age 84, of Fruita passed away Friday, September 18, 2020, peacefully under the care of HopeWest Hospice Care Center after a long struggle with dementia. There will not be a formal memorial service.

Harold was born at home in Madison County, west Tennessee, to the late John Heron and Mary Margaret Davenport. Upon graduating from North Side High School in Jackson, TN, Harold enlisted in the Navy where he served four years as a submarine sonarman and reached Seaman First Class at the time of his honorable discharge. Upon leaving the Navy, Harold began his college studies where he received a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from the University of Tennessee, a master’s degree in mathematics from Texas A&M University, and finally his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Alabama. Harold also held positions in industry at NASA, Brown Engineering, and the Army Missile Command. Harold’s career as a Professor of Mathematics began at the University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Harold expanded his teaching resume with professorships at Columbus College, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and Northwestern State University of Louisiana. Harold’s last professor appointment was at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, CO, where he taught until he retired in 2010.

Harold is survived by his wife Sandra Davenport of Fruita, CO, his children William Harold Davenport II of South Lake Tahoe, NV, David Carleton Davenport of Denver, CO, Bennett John Joseph Davenport of Centennial, CO, Mark Edson Davenport of Athens, AL, Amber Yvette Thomas of Athens, AL, his granddaughter Athena Kavanaugh of Starksville, MS, and his brother John Wayne Davenport of East Windsor, NJ.

Harold was a very committed man, and in his household, education was second only to family. Harold’s dedication to family was evident in his enthusiastic study of genealogy, in which he discovered he was related to Elvis Presley. Harold was proud that he learned his strong work ethic from his upbringing plowing cotton fields in west Tennessee, and he never failed to remind his children of that as he directed activities on his small ranch near Fruita. Harold was also proud that he was a college professor. He enjoyed talking math and sports with his students. He reminded them that he spoke proper West Tennessee Hillbilly. He loved to say that there was always a good chance that one of his college alma mater teams would be national champions in basketball or football every year. Harold loved basketball as was evident by his being a coach for various youth basketball teams for his sons Will, Dave, and Bennett. Harold also loved to play tennis, which he was able to share with his wife Sandra and his children. Harold loved to travel. He was always up to taking his family for a good road trip, despite at times some reluctance on his family’s part. Harold was happy to say that he had visited 48 of the 50 states in the US. At each state line, he would always stop at the welcome center to secure a state map as proof of his visitation. Harold was a quiet stern man, and yet he always welcomed the opportunity to exercise his gift of gab whether it be with a filling station clerk or a family friend who visited his home. He was never short of stories to swap, and they were always interesting and entertaining. Harold’s wife and children are very proud of his accomplishments, from growing up in the cotton fields of west Tennessee to proudly serving in the Navy, to working hard to gain the highest level of education as a Ph.D. mathematician, and to being a college professor for most of his working career.

Memorial contributions may be made to HopeWest Hospice (https://www.hopewestco.org/donate/)