Herman R Davis

Herman Russell “Hard Rock” Davis of Wyoming passed away on March 10, 2020 at the age of 92. He was born at Chattaroy, WV on January 5, 1928, the son of John Herman Davis and Neva Mills Davis.

He had a long and varied career over the years. He was a credit manager for Island Creek Stores for over 25 years starting with an office at Wyoming and then later at Oceana. At one point, he was over credit for 33 Island Creek Stores. He was the first person to operate a self-serve gas station in Wyoming County when he opened Solo Gas in Oceana. He leased and ran Hamilton Hotel for a year in the early 1970s. In 1978, he left Island Creek to open a store with two partners in the old Island Creek Company Store at Wyoming.  After a few years he left there and bought the old Island Creek Store at Herndon and operated it as Davis and Son IGA for many years. But in the early 1970s he found his true calling as an auctioneer. After attending auctioneer school, he went on to hold countless auctions across Wyoming County and the weekly Saturday night auction at the Auction House at Wyoming.

But his biggest passion was serving the people of Wyoming County. He served on the Oceana City Council, the Wyoming County Board of Education, and three terms (18 years) on the Wyoming County Commission.

He was preceded in death by his parents and by his loving wife Eileen Davis. He is survived by his three children, Judy Gass (Phillip) of Abingdon, VA, Stephen Davis of Shady Spring, Chris Davis of Pineville, and a brother, Kenneth Davis of Columbus, Ohio. He leaves three grandchildren, Melanie Gass, Jeremy Gass, and Larissa Davis.

The family would like to give a special thanks to Martha Kennedy for all the help she provided over the years.

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