Gerald Davis Obituary

Janesville, WI - Jerry grew up in Janesville and was a stand-out athlete, graduating from Parker High School in 1969. His love of baseball started in Little League when he played on the winning 1964 All Star team, but it was cemented in 1966 when his Babe Ruth team went to the World Series in Arizona. Jerry went on to excel in basketball and baseball and was offered a dual scholarship to play both sports at Western Michigan University, but instead signed with the New York Mets out of high school. He played in the minor league and attended UW Whitewater in the off season. After leaving the Mets, he attended UW La Crosse before transferring to UW Madison.

In 1974, Jerry married Kimberly Braaten. He spent many years working in the petroleum industry for Braaten Oil Company in Janesville, and Moore Oil Company in Milwaukee. He later became a Franchise Consultant for Country Kitchens Restaurants, covering a territory from New York to North Dakota. After many years of travel, he settled into his final career as a salesman for Frank Boucher in Janesville. After decades of asking Kim what was for dinner, Jerry took up cooking, much to her relief. He was an excellent cook and instituted Thursday night dinners that included his children, grandchildren, and grand-dogs. There were sometimes more dogs than people, but as a man who was known to come home with a stray dog or cat, that suited him just fine.

Jerry's real joy came from coaching youth sports. He coached the Janesville semi-pro team, Babe Ruth, and the Legion baseball team. He also coached YWCA basketball and football. Jerry went on to co-found Janesville's Pop Warner Youth Football League, now Janesville Youth Football. The highlight of his coaching career was taking Janesville's 1989 Legion baseball team to the World Series and placing third. In 1992, Jerry was inducted into the Janesville Sports Hall of Fame. He was a man of great talent and his contributions to youth sports in Janesville positively impacted generations of players.

Jerry will be deeply missed by his children, Jerry and Katie Davis, Alicia and Joe Clark, and Andrew Davis, all of Janesville; and his four grandchildren, Griffin and Braaten Davis, and Henry and Hayden Clark. They brought such joy to his life.

He is also survived by his wife of 51 years, Kim; brothers, Dave (Connie) Davis, Mike (Debbie) Davis; sister, Barb Walker; brother-in-law, Mark (Kathy) Braaten; sisters-in-law, Pamela Alberico and Stephanie Hanson; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Norm and Dolores Davis; father and mother-in-law, Donald and Elizabeth Braaten; and brothers-in-law, Walt Walker, Don Braaten, and Julius Alberico.

Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Trinity Episcopal Church with burial following at Oak Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at SCHNEIDER FUNERAL HOME from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations may be made to Janesville Youth Football or the Humane Society of Southern Wisconsin in Jerry's memory. SCHNEIDER FUNERAL DIRECTORS is assisting the family. For online condolences and guestbook, please visit: www.schneiderfuneraldirectors.com