Barbara Ellen Davis, 97

Barbara Ellen Davis, 97, passed away Sept. 28, 2021 after a short battle with COVID-19 at St. Luke Extended Care in Ronan.

Barbara was born Oct. 1, 1923, to Agnes Douglas Cline Magee and Harry Cline in Cut Bank. Her family lived in Browning until moving to Oklahoma, where Harry worked as an oil driller. After a short time the family moved back to Browning, where her dad helped drill the first oil well on the reservation.

Barbara went on an adventure in Spokane during her junior year and part of her senior year of high school. While in Spokane she attended Lewis and Clark High School. She moved back to Browning and married Ray Davis on Aug. 1, 1942, in Choteau. They moved to Blackfoot, Mont. Ray enlisted and left for the Pacific theater until his discharge in 1945. In 1947 they welcomed their daughter, Sandra, and in 1949 their son, Russ. They welcomed their third child, Gary, in 1958.

In 1956 Barbara went to work with Ray in their first of many restaurant endeavors, the Browning Cafe. After five years they moved over to the Legion Club. They brought in many well-known performers and fed thousands. The next few years involved work at the Price Cafe in Polson and a short stint in Libby at the Ten Pin Cafe. The opportunity to take over the Blue Bay Resort Restaurant brought the family back to Polson for a few years. Next, they traveled to Hungry Horse to run the Log Cabin Cafe. There was to be one last restaurant, Eureka Restaurant and Tavern. For 30 years, Barb and Ray managed, owned, and operated food establishments, always leaving them a better place than when they arrived.

Barbara was an amazing cook. She fed thousands high-quality food that was cooked with love. She was known for her pies and specials. They retired in 1984 and set out to spend more time fishing and enjoying the lake house at Glen Lake. Barb and Ray always had Gary in tow. During these retirement years the family welcomed visits from their grandchildren. Barbara loved to travel, especially to go on a cruise. When Gary started needing dialysis, she put on thousands of miles driving to Kalispell. In 1995 the family moved to Post Falls to aid in Gary’s care. After Gary and Ray passed Barb moved to Charlo to be near her daughter. A few years ago, she moved into St. Luke Extended Care. Her favorite part of the day was getting ice cream with dinner. She loved getting to eat it first. She also loved winning Wednesday Bingo.

Barbara was preceded in death by son Gary, husband Ray and great-grandson Dillon.

She is survived by daughter Sandy (Curt) Coulter and son Russ (Sue) Davis, seven grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grand grandchildren.

There will be a private family service, and Barbara will be interred at the St. Ignatius Catholic Cemetery. Messages of condolences may be shared with the family at www.shriderthompson.com.

Arrangements are under the care of Shrider-Thompson Funeral Home.