DR. MARION "BUDDY" HENRY DAVIS JR., M.D.

Dr. Marion “Buddy” Henry Davis Jr., M.D., 71, husband of Patricia Kizer Davis, died Sunday, March 23, 2025, at Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital after a brief illness.
Born in Sumter County, Oct. 30, 1953, he was a son of the late Marion Henry Davis Sr. and the late Julia Lee Kirby Davis.
Dr. Davis attended school in Sumter and was a 1971 graduate of Edmunds High School, currently Sumter High School. He also attended the University of South Carolina where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a minor in Music in 1975. He worked for several years in a family business, Seaco Music. He then attended the University of South Carolina School of Medicine and graduated in 1990 as a Doctor of Medicine. Subsequently, he completed his residency and internship at McLeod Family Medicine in Florence. As rural medicine was his calling, he then joined his uncle, Dr. S. Perry Davis, MD, in Pinewood, at the Davis Clinic for several years. After Dr. S. Perry Davis, MD, retired, he joined a general practice in Sumter. An underlying interest was psychiatry, and he eventually transitioned to the S.C. Department of Mental Health where he finished out his career and retired in December 2024. Over the years, he was a member of several professional organizations.
He was a member of Grace Baptist Church in Sumter where his family was founding members in 1900. Buddy enjoyed singing from an early age and was a member of the choir where he performed as a soloist. Later in life, he joined First Baptist Church and was an active member of the choir there, also. Dr. “Buddy” also taught Sunday School at Covenant Place where he served for a time as medical director beginning in November 1994.
His main love and hobby was music, and he was an active member in the Sumter Civic Chorale. He enjoyed barber shop quartet music and also participated with various groups such as the Singing Christmas Tree over the years. He was happiest when enjoying camaraderie with fellow musicians. He also sang, at times, as an off-stage voice with Prime Tyme, the local band, using his baritone voice recordings. His quartet beginnings included his cousin, Johnny Davis, and friends, Julian Griner and Buddy Harris mostly performing at Grace Baptist Church.
Another interest was genealogy, and he spent many hours gathering information on various sides of his family.
Surviving are his wife, Patricia Kizer Davis, of Sumter; two daughters, Dr. Nina Davis Whorton, PT, DPT, and husband, Josh, of Bryson City, North Carolina, and Rebecca Hardee Niswonger and husband, Patrick, of Sumter, and one son, David Benson Hardee of Sumter; four grandchildren, Maclane Joshua Whorton, Kendall Essie Schlager, Matthew Niswonger and Joshua Niswonger; a brother, Larry Glenn Davis Sr., and nephew, Larry Glenn Davis Jr., both of Sumter; and a number of other family members, both local and out of state.
Dr. Davis elected to be a donor for research and teaching through the Anatomy Gifts Registry of Hanover, Maryland.
The family will receive guests at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 27, followed by the celebration of life at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church, Sumter, with the Rev. Dr. Dan Barber and the Rev. Dr. Bob Calvert officiating.
Family ushers will be Mr. Joshua Whorton, Mr. Patrick Niswonger, Mr. David Hardee and Mr. Maclane Whorton.
Honorary family ushers will be Mr. Matthew Niswonger and Mr. Joshua Niswonger.
Memorials may be sent to Sumter First Baptist Church, 107 E. Liberty St., Sumter, SC 29150, or Prisma Health Hospice, c/o The Tuomey Foundation, https://prismahealth.org/giving/tuomey-foundation, catherine.leubbert@prismahealth.org or (803) 774-9037.