John Alvin Davis St. George, UT - John Alvin Davis passed away on May 3rd, 2011. He was born on October 19, 1918, in Benson, Arizona to Heber and Christina Thompson Davis. John grew up on a ranch in the Mormon Colonies in Old Mexico. He truly lived a life of service, to our Lord and the Church. As a young man, he served a mission in Mexico. He then waited for his future bride to return from her mission so they could be married. He married his sweetheart Ada Whetten on May 22nd, 1943. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Mesa Arizona Temple on June 29, 1944. John served in the United States Navy, as a corpsman, for the last year and a half of the Second World War. He was called to serve in the Bishopric in Mexico when he was 27 years old. John moved his family to Grand Junction, Colorado in 1948. There he was called as the Second Counselor in the Branch Presidency. He then served 4 years as the Branch President, followed by 5 years as the Bishop of the Grand Junction 2nd Ward. In 1963, John moved his family to Provo, Utah. While in Provo, John served as a Sunday School Teacher, as High Priest Group Leader, and as a High Councilman. John retired from the Postal Service in 1978. He and Ada were then called on their second missions: this time to the Dominican Republic. They served as Missionaries for two years. John then received a call from President Spencer Kimball, asking him to serve as the Mission President of the new Dominican Republic Mission. He served in that capacity for 2 and half years, bringing their total mission time to 4 and a half years in the Dominican Republic. When John arrived in the Dominican Republic there were only a couple dozen members. When he left, there were over 6000 members. President Thomas S. Monson met with John before he completed his assignment as the Mission President. President Monson asked for John's input on how to divide the Dominican Republic Mission. Shortly after John left, The Dominican Republic was split into 3 Missions as John had suggested. There are currently over 120,000 members in the Dominican Republic, and they now have their own Temple. John moved to St George Utah when they returned from the Dominican Republic. While there he was the High Priest Group Leader. In 1986 John was ordained as a Sealer, by Thomas S. Monson. In 1987, he was called to be the President of the Mission Training Center in Santiago, Chile. When he returned to St George, he resumed his mission as a Sealer in the St George Temple. He continued to be a Sealer until 2006 when his lovely companion passed away. From that time forward he has attended Temple sessions four days each week, until 2 weeks ago, at the age of 92, when he simply was no longer physically able. John is survived by his 4 children, Robert Kent Davis, of St George, Utah, Shirlee (Rand) Packer of Provo, Utah, Bill Davis of St George, Utah, Jolynne (Harold) Black of Hempstead, Texas, 21 grandchildren and 42 great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, May 7, 2011 at the LDS chapel at 550 East 700 South, St. George, Utah. Visitations will be held on Friday night, May 6th, at Metcalf Mortuary, 288 W. St. George Blvd., St George, Utah, from 6 to 8 p.m. and on Saturday morning, May 7th, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m., prior to services at the chapel. Internment will be at the St. George City Cemetery, following the services. Arrangements entrusted to the care of Metcalf Mortuary, (435) 673-4221. Please visit our website at www.metcalfmortuary.com for condolences, complete obituary and funeral listings.