Governor Davis

Governor Davis passed away peacefully at IU/BMH on October 13, 2021, surrounded by friends and family

Born February 2, 1948 in Chicago, Illinois to Louise Davis Gaines and Governor Leonard (both deceased), Governor and his brothers, Andrew and Johnny (deceased), grew up watching their  father repair cars belonging to various Chicago Blues artists. He attended their concerts in different venues, and subsequently developed a love of music - especially the Blues genre. Governor also had other siblings, Pleasant (Ples), Keith, Marilyn, Sandra, and Joanne, who did not grow up with him in the Chicago household.

His father wanted Governor to get a “real job,” which, in his opinion, was doing something other than repairing other people’s cars and playing music, so Governor followed his advice and moved to Indiana to study at first Vincennes and then Ball State Universities. While at Vincennes he studied Social Work and performed in  various musical groups on campus and was a member of the Upward Bound Programs. After graduating Vincennes, he moved to Muncie and attended Ball State, continuing his studies in Social Work, while teaching himself to play guitar; and began sitting in with local bands and learning the art of performance from them. He always appreciated the opportunities to learn, and returned the favor by giving beginning artists the same opportunity after he had formed his own bands.

 After graduating from Ball State in 1977, he became a Social Worker for C.E.T.A., assisting people in finding jobs in Delaware County, and performed in several bands in the area until he finally made the decision to perform full time.

On May 2, 1981, Governor married the love of his life, Gina Persons, whom he is survived by today, and who loves to recall things he used to say to her as he was leaving for yet another gig, like:

 “Play each gig - whether to an audience of one or one thousand - as if it is your very last.”

During his career, Governor was given various awards and honors, and played in several venues around Indiana, including The Slippery Noodle (Indianapolis), Valhalla (Muncie), Red Key Palace (Red Key), Elm Street Brewery (Muncie) and The Knickerbocker Saloon (Lafayette), as well as in Europe, where the crowd loved him, too!

Gina wants you to know that,  “He loved every one of you! Thank you all for being his good friends. 

“There will be no services - he wanted you to go out and celebrate life!”

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