Hattie Lee (Booker) Davidson

Hattie Lee Booker Davidson was born on November 1ST, 1917, in Yalobusha County, Mississippi to Dennis Booker and Gussie Mae Lane Booker. Hattie was the youngest of four (4) girls. After her father’s death, Gussie Mae married William Clinton Fondren. To this union, five (5) children were born. The Lord blessed Hattie Lee to outlive all of her siblings.

Hattie Lee grew up in a God-fearing, sanctified home. She confessed her faith in Christ at a young age. Her children and grandchildren remember her reading her bible and studying her Sunday School lessons faithfully. She quoted scriptures and aspired to live by them. One of her favorite scriptures was Matthew 22: 37-40, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” She embodied these principles. For decades, she served in many capacities at her home church, Beverly United Methodist Church. These included head usher, Sunday School teacher, and organizer/director for the first Vacation Bible School at Beverly. She was the conference delegate for Beverly United Methodist Conference for many, many years. One of the programs that was closest to her heart was the annual Christmas program which she continued to spearhead until the 2020 pandemic. She encouraged others to live a Godly life, both in her words and in her actions.

On December 18, 1939, Lenon Olester Davidson and Hattie Lee Booker joined in holy matrimony. They spent almost 47 years together serving their church home and their West Springhill community. To their loving union, Lenon and Hattie Lee were blessed with six (6) children.

Hattie lived through segregation and the Jim Crow era. After earning the right to vote, blacks were subjected to extensive measures designed to prevent them from exercising that right, including literacy tests and restrictive poll taxes. Hattie did not let any of those deter her and was a fervent proponent of voting. For many years she served as a poll manager in local, state, and federal elections. She encouraged others to vote in every election - no matter what the race, or who was on the ballot. She said often, “Vote! Even if the vote is for the dogcatcher.” She was so proud to have voted for the first African American president.

In the 1960s, after raising her children as their primary caregiver throughout their lives, Hattie embarked upon her new journey with the Headstart Program. She started as an assistant cook, became head cook, then a teacher’s aide. She earned her Associates degree from Rust College in Early Childhood Education and moved to the front of the class as a Headstart teacher. She loved her job and the many children whose lives she touched. Even years after she stopped working as a teacher, she fondly referred to her Headstart “babies” and many of them still checked on her regularly.

Though she stopped working as a teacher, she never stopped caring for children. There was always a steady stream of grandchildren, and later great-grandchildren, welcomed at her home. She travelled to celebrate their graduations from high school, college, law school and graduate programs throughout Mississippi, North Carolina, Washington DC, Arkansas, and Ohio. She enjoyed vacationing with her family in Florida, Hilton Head, San Antonio, Gatlinburg and any and everywhere they told her she was going. One of the ways she expressed her love was through her cooking and her family devoured her chocolate cakes, soups, baked chicken, and other dishes. She had a special relationship with each grand and great-grand and they all cherish the time they spent with her.

Hattie had an impeccable sense of style and grace. Her parents appropriately named her “Hattie” because she never left home without a hat, even if just going to the grocery store. She had to have her nails polished and her hair ‘done’. She prided herself in carrying herself as a lady.

One of Hattie’s favorite sayings was, “To have a friend, you must first show yourself friendly.” And Hattie had many friends. She touched many lives during her 104-year walk on this earth. Though less than 5 ft tall, she was a giant in the eyes of those who knew and loved her. She had a quiet spirit and a sweet smile that belied the strength and resilience that helped her survive segregation, the Great Depression, World War II, the death of her husband and two sons, and a global pandemic. She taught her children to respect others, but she also taught them to demand respect for themselves.

On Wednesday, October 12TH, 2022 while at home with her two “girls”, Hattie Lee Booker Davidson spirit departed this earthly plane. She leaves her family to celebrate her life and her legacy: sons – Roy Lee of Jackson MS (affectionately called Louis by his Mother) and Isaiah of Covington, TN; daughters – Eunice Fay Carter of Oxford, MS and Edith Ray Davidson-Keys (Kenneth) of Bolton, MS; grandchildren – Atty. Camille Michel Davidson (Trevor Fuller) of Carbondale, IL; Roderick Darryl Davidson of Oxford, MS; Dr. Edith Faye Davidson of Brandon, MS; Tiffiney Valencia Carter-Washington (Curtis) of Madison, MS; Dr. Karen Voncille Davidson Smith (Julian) of Oxford, MS; Latunya Nicole Davidson of Baton Rouge, LA; Porché Jeanae Keys of Orlando, FL; Alexus Michelle Keys of Brandon, MS; great-grandchildren – Elizabeth Faith Davidson Harden of Dayton, OH; Jackson Davidson Fuller of Boston, MA; Dyllon Nelson Carter Washington of Madison, MS; Schuyler Bryson Fuller of Washington, D.C.; Dalyn Halene Carter Washington of Madison, MS; and Zuri Michele Keys of Orlando, FL; daughters-in-law – Mary Della Bryson Davidson of Oxford, MS and Joyce Lynn Banks Davidson of Baton Rouge, LA and a host of nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great nephews, other relatives, friends, church members, and Headstart babies.

Her husband, Lenon, and 2 sons, Dr. Lelon Olester and Donald Nelson Davidson, preceded Hattie Lee in death.