Vida Susan (Spoon) Davis

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Category: Obituaries

Created on Friday, 03 January 2014 12:44

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Vida Susan (Spoon) Davis, Kaawdik’eit Tl’aa, Tuk’deintaan,  died Jan. 1, 2014, at age 70.
She was born to her Inupiaq parents Frank and Effie (Newport) Spoon in Pilot Point, Alaska, on Sept. 6, 1943. When she was 4 years old her parents passed away due to tuberculosis, and she was adopted by her Tlingit parents Eddie (Kaagwaantaan) and Mary (Tuk’deintaan) Marshall of Sitka. She was raised with her parents in the culture that she knew and loved for her entire life. She was always very proud of being Inupiaq, but was raised in a traditional Tlingit lifestyle.
She married her lifelong partner, Herman Davis Sr., on Jan. 29, 1965,  witnessed by her parents Eddie and Mary Marshall. The Davises made Sitka their home and raised their children, and watched their grandchildren, and great-grandchild grow.
Vida was a member of the St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox church, and enjoyed her time in the choir singing songs of praise.
She also enjoyed berry picking, camping, picnicking on the islands, smoke fish camp with her family, and, especially, helping her husband haul halibut gear in her younger years.
Vida was a lifelong learner and teacher. She attended Sitka schools, and Sheldon Jackson College. She worked at SJC as a Tlingit language instructor, and also at SEARHC. She was a part of the traveling theater group Naa Kahidi Theater, and traveled across the nation and also to Russia.
She was a vital part of the language revitalization and involved in many Tlingit immersion camps, with her husband Herman.
She took great pride in teaching the Tlingit language, culture, song and dance. She began working with Charlie Joseph Sr., Isabella Brady, Anne Johnson, Nellie Lord, Marie Guthrie, Alice Williams and Ethel Makinen in the early years of Sitka Native Education Program.
She worked tirelessly on transcribing songs with SNEP for the Gajaa Heen Dancers. Vida’s most cherished occupation was her 35-plus years of Tlingit cultural instruction and working with all the kids in Gajaa Heen at the ANB Hall.
She also worked to identify Tlingit place names for the map that was created in the 1990s. The wealth of knowledge that she possessed is irreplacable, and she was always willing to teach and share what she knew with those who spent time with her.
In her lifetime she was a member of Alaska Native Sisterhood, spent many years with the Noow Tlein Dancers and enjoyed singing and dancing.
Vida was well known for her sense of humor, her love of playing video and computer games, her love of the culture, and her daily updates to her beloved friends and family on facebook. Even though in later years she was home more often than not, she always stayed in touch and shared kind notes, Tlingit knowledge, daily jokes and good morning posts. She always made sure everyone knew she loved them and thought of them often. She will be greatly missed by all. 
She was preceded in death by her birth parents, Frank and Effie (Newport) Spoon; adopted parents, Eddie and Mary Marshall; brothers Alvin Spoon, Alwin Spoon and Alman Spoon; and grandson Christopher Michael Nye Hoffay; and many beloved family members.
She is survived by older sister Geneva (Gene) DeVoyd; niece and nephew Rebecca and Christopher DeVoyd of New Hampshire; and niece, Ginny Parry of Georgia.
Her husband Herman Davis Sr., children Michael Spoon, Sonya Hoffay, Herman (Sonny) Davis Jr., and Mark Davis; grandchildren Charlene Hoffay, Ruth Hoffay, Brendan Hoffay and Marki Jackson; and great-grandson Roland Dean Lowe, all of Sitka, and another grandson on the way in Eugene, Ore.; and many, many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends and family, also survive.
She has a special place in the heart of many people, and her students will never forget the countless hours she spent teaching each and every one of them. She dedicated her life to sharing what she knew. 
Cultural services will begin 6 p.m. on Sunday, Jan., 5, at ANB Founders Hall. Following the cultural memorial she will lie in state at the Coho House,   314 Katlian St.
Church services will be held at St. Michael’s Cathedral at noon Monday, Jan. 6, with a reception to follow at ANB Founders Hall.
Pallbearers will be Gary Lang Jr.,  Henry Johnson, Donald Anderson, George Bennett Jr., James Bennett, Ray Kitka, Edward Miller, John Young III, Charles Young Sr., Kenneth (K.L.) Nielsen Jr., Kyle Young and Greg Littlefield.
Honarary pallbearers are Andy Gamble, Jim Button, Nels Lawson Sr., Charlie Daniels, Ron James, William Kanosh, John Nielsen Sr., Ernest Hillman Sr.,  Anne Johnson, Tammy Young, Mary Bennett, Alfreda Lang, and Rose Ballinger.

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