Laura May (Amstutz) Davis

Laura May (Amstutz) Davis, 91, of Indianapolis, passed away at 5:25 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16, 2020, at University Heights Health and Living Community in Indianapolis.

Born May 2, 1929, in Brewersville, she was the daughter of the late Christian and Ruth (Vanscoy) Amstutz. She married Charles Davis on September 8, 1967 in Speedway; he preceded her in death on November 6, 2001.

Laura graduated from Vernon High School in 1947 as Vice-President of her class and appeared in several plays. She worked as an executive secretary for 17 years with Allison Transmission in Indianapolis, retiring in 1974. Laura attended Berean Baptist Church of Greenwood where she and her husband enjoyed assembling bibles. As a former member of the North Vernon Senior Resource Center, she was instrumental in planning group trips to destinations such as Washington D.C. Laura enjoyed traveling the world, her most prized possession being the jacket she hand-stitched with a patch for each destination reached.  She loved reading, gardening, birdwatching and writing. Travel logs and family history stories were her specialty.  She submitted a story about how her Swiss immigrant father's storytelling skill kept her brother John from damaging a newly grafted tree.  It was published in Reminisce Magazine. 

She is survived by her daughter, Sandra Kay Penn (Gary) Howard of Whiteland; step-daughter Cindy (Rick) Ryan of Aztec, New Mexico; grandchildren, Debbie Penn Smith of Indianapolis, Paul Hamilton Howard of Whiteland, Kathy (Jess) Coleman of Aztec, New Mexico, and Kristy (Jason) Raggio of Tokyo, Japan; great-grandchildren, Jessica Elizabeth Lanning and Kennedy Nicole Penn, both of Indianapolis, , and Mary Coleman of New Mexico; step-grandchildren, Rebecca (Dennis) Russell of Nineveh and Joyce Ann Bills; step-great-grandchildren, Kaitlyn Russell and Kristin Russell, both of Nineveh, Larissa Sam of Greenwood, Brandon Carlisle, and Hope Bills; step-great-great-grandson, Marcus Tanner of Indianapolis; plus numerous nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, great-great nieces and nephews and great-great-great nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; son, Ross Penn Jr.; step-son Steve Davis; sisters, Mary Pollock, Emma Amstutz, Anne Gearries, Maxine Shipley, and Alice Pearson; and brothers, John Amstutz, Abraham Amstutz, and Frank Amstutz.

A funeral service for Laura will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, at Dove-Sharp & Rudicel Funeral Home and Cremation Services in North Vernon with Pastor Bill Blakely officiating. Family and friends may call at the funeral home from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service. Burial will be in the Vernon Cemetery.

The family encourages, but will not require, the wearing of masks and will provide seating to allow for social distancing.

Memorials may be made in Laura’s honor through the funeral home to the North Vernon Senior Resource Center.  

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Laura May (Amstutz) Davis, please visit our floral store.