Milton Davis

Milton Deforest Davis, aka Pete, passed away at the Vermont Veterans’ Home on Wednesday September 23rd. He was 86 years old. Pete was born in Flushing, New York but moved at a young age to Avon, CT with his Mother, Cecilia Davis (Gratton.) His Father Milton SR. remained in Flushing.

Pete enjoyed life as a teenager. According to Pete, he played hookey in high school but then attended classes at the University of Connecticut. During his youth he remembered bringing fish he caught to his mother. He married Joan Golden but shortly afterward was drafted into the military. He was trained in guerilla warfare and left for Korea from Fort Lewis in the state of Washington. Pete participated enthusiastically with his patrol overseas.

Later in life, Pete found himself living in his Mother’s house on Maple ST in Bennington, VT. His Mother lived next to Danny and Nancy Flanders, and one day when Danny’s sister Darlene was visiting, she and Pete met and it was love on a Harley ever since.

Pete and Darlene traveled all around riding the ‘89 Softail. On weekdays Pete worked as a machinist, a shop manager, and a union organizer at Bijur. He and Darlene and their son William Hurley lived on Safford ST. The couple participated in rides for many charitable causes including Toys for Tots. They also frequented the swap meet in Laconia, NH, the Syracuse Bike Races, and Jumpin’ Jack’s Tavern Biker Bar. Pete also spent days in the woods hunting with various companions and was quite successful bringing home deer meat to the table.

As Pete began losing his sight, he sold the bike and bought a nice quiet home on Houghton Lane. He and Darlene loved that home. They often acquired their grandkids for overnights at which times they would lavish the children with Harley Davidson merch, candy, and fun toys to ride. During retirement, Pete loved his family and grandchildren, his neighbors, his many friends, and people who took care of him at the nursing home.

Pete told some really great stories about grandparents who built the Governor’s Rock Motel and raised chickens. His Dad looked just like him. His buddies in CT used to sneak into the local watering hole during study hall. He’d drive the speed limit when he would ride with his friends in law enforcement. Occasionally he talked about working long hours and not getting a day off. He knew secret places in Sunderland and Arlington where the deer with points could be found. He also perpetually lived in Woodford where it was snowing all the time, and he could see the deer in the swamp from his open back door.

Pete is succeeded in life by his step son, William Hurley, and his grandchildren Lincoln, Daltyn, and Oliver. His brother Tom still lives in Georgia, and his sister Caroline in California will miss her brother. Pete is predeceased by his parents and his wife, Darlene Davis. Darlene and Pete are now “in the wind forever,” as they planned to be.

In the Chapel Road Cemetery at 11:00 AM on October 9th there will be a service and words of remembrance to honor Pete’s life.