Merita Davis Rowan

August 26, 2017

Merita Davis Rowan, 104, of Bainbridge, Ga., passed away Saturday, August 26, 2017, one day before her 105^th birthday.

The graveside funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, August 28, 2017, at Oak City Cemetery with Dr. Heath Kahlbau officiating.

The family will receive friends from 9:15 to 9:45 a.m. on Monday, August 28, 2017, at Ivey Funeral Home. Online visitors may sign the guest register at

www.iveyfuneral.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to: First Baptist Church, P. O. Box 155, Bainbridge, GA 39818.

Merita Davis was born August 27, 1912, in Donalsonville, Ga., the daughter of Dr. Emmett Slaughter Davis and Rosa Emma Reynolds Davis. She was a high school graduate and owned and operated Merita’s Dress Shop on the square in Bainbridge for over three decades. Merita was a member of First Baptist Church.

Having lived over a century, “Miss” Merita had stories to share across generations. Her church was an important part of her own story. She married the love of her life, Reginald Rowan, at the First Baptist Church when she was just eighteen years old. She was asked to sing soprano in the church choir, which she did for many years. Merita got to know quite a few people in town as a small business owner. After her retirement, she enjoyed visiting with her friends at the Charter House, Hardee’s Coffee Club (every Tuesday morning), and Garden Club. “Miss” Merita lived by a saying she learned at an early age from her mother, “If you are a selfish little girl you will grow up to be a selfish woman, and you don’t want that.”

Survivors include her sisters-in-law, Betty “Gene” Davis and Betty “Herman” Davis Scott; many nieces and nephews; and her special friends for many years, Don and Janice Kell and Bob and Carole Henderson. Merita was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Reginald E. Rowan; and her siblings, Herman Davis, Thurman Davis, Dot Hodges, Emmett Davis, Reynolds Davis, Julia Harrison and Walter Eugene Davis.