Marshall Davis

Marshall Brook Davis, age 89 of Milbank, passed away on September 9, 2023, in Milbank.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, September 16, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Milbank. Visitation will be held at the church on Saturday, one hour prior to the service. Burial, with military honors, will be at Bluff View Cemetery in Vermillion, SD.

Marshall Brook Davis – Brook – was born on July 11, 1934, to Marshall and Roberta Davis at Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton, SD. Brook lived in Vermillion until his father was stationed at Walla Walla, Washington to serve in the Army during World War II. After the war, Brook returned to Vermillion, where his dad ran the Davis Pharmacy, and he attended the Vermillion Public School system. Growing up, Brook loved to hunt, fish, trap, and trade guns in the Vermillion area. Brook proudly served in both the Navy and the Army. While in the Army during the Korean War, he was stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. Following his honorable discharge from the Army, Brook returned to Vermillion and was accepted to the Pharmacy School at SDSU in Brookings, SD.

He was united in marriage to Barbara (Koenig) of Yankton, SD, on November 28, 1957. After finishing Pharmacy School, Brook founded and ran the Medical Arts Pharmacy across from the hospital in Vermillion. Brook and Barb welcomed their first son, Jeff, on April 13, 1961, and their second son, Chris, on May 3, 1966. Brook worked hard to make a living for his family while instilling in his boys an appreciation for hard work and a love for the outdoors. Hunting, fishing, and trapping were a way of life in the Davis household.

Brook was a tremendous shot and won several State Championships in trapshooting. Rumor has it that most people hunting pheasants with him complained that they never got a chance to shoot because Brook was on the bird so fast. He was also a tremendous walleye fisherman. Jeff and Chris will always cherish the countless hours spent hunting, fishing, trapping, and shooting with their dad. Brook also loved spending time at the family cabin on Gull Lake near Nisswa, MN. Eventually, that love for the cabin would result in Brook and Barb retiring there. They would spend their retirement – nearly thirty wonderful years – on Gull Lake.

During retirement Brook kept busy going to gun shows, trapping, fishing, hunting, and spending time with his family. Family was paramount for him. Brook’s faith in his Lord and Savior was hugely important to him. Brook was a faithful and active member of First English Lutheran Church of Dorset, MN for years. He and Barb recently became members of Emanuel Lutheran Church in Milbank. Even when he could no longer physically make it to church, he would faithfully watch the services on tv.

Brook is survived by his loving wife, Barb, of sixty-five years, of Milbank, his sons: Jeff Davis of Hackensack, MN, and Chris (Karrie) Davis of Milbank, ; grandchildren: Shepherd, Warden, and Stella; sister, Sandy (Tom) Lavin of Vermillion, SD; along with many nieces and nephews.

Brook was preceded in death by his parents.