Lawrence Arthur "Art" Davidson (85) of Carmi, formerly of Altamont

Lawrence Arthur ‘Art’ Davidson, 85, of Carmi went to be with his Lord Jesus Christ on Monday, September 25, 2017 at 1:50 a.m. at the Hamilton Memorial Hospital in McLeansboro, Illinois.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, September 29 at the First Baptist Church in Altamont with Rev. Dr. Lowell Donnelley officiating. Burial will follow in the Watson Cemetery with military rites by Gieseking Schwerdtfeger V.F.W. Post 7676 of Altamont. Visitation will be from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday at the First Baptist Church. Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church, Altamont, Baptist Children’s Home, or the donor’s choice. Gieseking Funeral Home, Altamont is assisting the family with arrangements.

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Lawrence ‘Art’ Davidson was born on Wednesday, April 6, 1932 in Watson, IL to Kenneth and Myrtle (Loy) Davidson. He attended school at the Watson Elementary School and Effingham High School where he graduated with the class of 1950. Art served in the U.S. Army during Korea from 1952-1954. He had worked at Norge Borg Warner (Fedders) in Effingham after finishing high school and before being drafted into the Army. While in Korea, one unforgettable event occurred when as a part of the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Battalion, one assignment was to carry in the tables used for the signing of the armistice with North Korea at the Panmunjom Base Camp. After his honorable discharge from the U.S. Army, he returned to his job with Norge Borg Warner where he worked on the assembly line until he transferred to the Time and Motion Study Department, and became supervisor of that department in 1975. He remained in that position until 1980. He resigned his position with (then) Fedders and went full time repairing radiators at Davidson Radiator Service, which he and his father, Kenneth had opened in 1964. Art operated Davidson Radiator Service until he retired in 1997, after selling to Ben Holmes who operated as Holmes Radiator Repair.

In 1957, Art and Evea (Vail) Davidson were married and moved to rural Altamont where they lived for 59 years. After raising a wonderful family that included 3 children, 6 grandchildren and 7 great-great grandchildren, they moved down to live with their daughter, Diane in November of 2016 due to his poor health. Art had been a member of the First Baptist Church, Altamont since 1958 and had served for over 50 years as a teacher of the Men’s Sunday school class and had served as a deacon and in many other capacities over the years. In December, Art and Evea would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. During their marriage, he took on the challenge of building their house and benefited from the generosity of family, neighbors and church friends. When the ground was broken for the current First Baptist Church building he assisted with the 5 year long construction project. Art enjoyed sports – first as a participant and then as an observer – baseball, basketball, football and especially the St. Louis Cardinals, Fighting Illini and college basketball. He found much enjoyment in attending his children and grandchildren’s sports activities and school functions and loved playing games; dominoes, “42”, and chess with family and friends.

Art is survived by his wife of over 59 years, Evea of Carmi; daughter, Diane (David) Healy of Carmi; grandsons, Mark (Jennifer) Healy; great grandson, Myles Healy; grandsons, USN E5 Adam Healy and Ethan Healy; great granddaughter, Adalyn Healy and great grandson, Aiden Healy; son, Paul (Diane) Davidson of Greenville; grandson, Dr. Bryan (Ashley) Davidson; son, Michael (Debbie) Davidson of Strasburg; granddaughter, Samantha Radloff; great grandsons, Mason and Parker; granddaughter, Jennifer (Brian) Vahling; great granddaughters, Charlotte (Charley) and Savannah; brothers, Kenneth Davidson of Marion and Phil (Kim) Davidson of Long Beach, CA; sisters, Alice (Jerry) Frailey of Beecher City, June Ashley of Effingham and Martha (Harold) Neal of Downey, CA; aunt, Ida Pinne of Genoa; many nieces, nephews and  cousins.

He was preceded in death by his: parents; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Walter and Jessie Vail; brother, Jim Davidson; grandson, Tyler Davidson; nephew, Dale Neal; 5 brothers-in-law; 1 sister-in-law and several aunts and uncles.