Constance “Connie” Gayle Billinger Davis of Abilene, teacher and social worker, died May 8. She was 70. She was born in Darnall Army Hospital at Fort Hood on Dec. 20, 1954. After she graduated from Killeen High School, she went on to Baylor University in Waco, graduating in 1975 with a degree in psychology. She married John Norman Davis on April 24, 1976, in Killeen. She later completed a master’s degree in education from Southwest Texas State University and a master’s degree in counseling from East Texas State University. She spent much of her adult life as an advocate for women and children in her various professional positions. She was named director of the newly rejuvenated YWCA in Paris, and she instituted many programs there, including girls’ softball and other girls’ sports and rebuilt an annual art fair that brought talent and visitors to the Northeast Texas town. While in Paris, she began working for Texas Child Protective Services, working her way up to supervisor and program director in Lubbock, and capping her 25-plus year career as program administrator in Abilene. She considered her work with and for children to be a calling from God. She was preceded in death by her father, Major (Ret.) Elmer Billinger. She is survived by her husband, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) John N. Davis of Hardin-Simmons University; son Jeffrey Davis and his wife Morgan; daughter Sara Klooster and her husband Andrew; five grandchildren; brother Jeffrey Billinger; sister Kathy Renz; and mother Vera Billinger. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on May 16 at Pioneer Drive Baptist Church in Abilene. Memorials may be given to the Foster Care and Adoption Ministry at Pioneer Drive Baptist Church.
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