Home > Australia > Victoria > Banyule City > Heidelberg > Warringal Cemetery > Mardell M Cue Davis

Mardell M Cue Davis

1 / 1

❮ ❯

Mardell M Cue Davis

Birth	:	13 Oct 1918 Iowa, USA
Death	:	2 Jul 2016 Fayette, Fayette County, Iowa, USA
Burial	:	Warringal Cemetery, Heidelberg, Banyule City, Australia
Coordinate	:	-37.7524048, 145.0586967
Description	:	Written: 12-15-2004 Mardell Davis has lived 76 years with the crippling effects of a bobsled accident, but it has not hindered her progress or weakened her resolve. Davis shared her story from the comfortable surroundings of her new home at Maple Crest Assisted Living. The living room is decorated with numerous collectibles placed thoughtfully among her family photos. The view outside is spectacular - of the red-orange maples so special in Fayette. She moves with difficulty to settle into her huge recliner, a small, kindly lady, telling of a life lived on the farm. She was born Mardell Cue, October 13,... Read More	Written: 12-15-2004 Mardell Davis has lived 76 years with the crippling effects of a bobsled accident, but it has not hindered her progress or weakened her resolve. Davis shared her story from the comfortable surroundings of her new home at Maple Crest Assisted Living. The living room is decorated with numerous collectibles placed thoughtfully among her family photos. The view outside is spectacular - of the red-orange maples so special in Fayette. She moves with difficulty to settle into her huge recliner, a small, kindly lady, telling of a life lived on the farm. She was born Mardell Cue, October 13, 1918, to Harley "John" and Bertha Cue, who farmed near Randalia. She was the youngest of a family of ten, including brothers Homer, Harold, A.I., Harley and Ralph, along with sisters Roxy, Nada and Mabel. There were also three older half brothers from her father's first marriage, for his first wife died at 29. She has happy memories of early childhood, getting together with the neighbor girls and playing with their dolls. It was worth the two mile walk along country roads to get together with her friends. She attended Randalia Public School, and it was on her way to school one snowy day, that the accident which changed her life occurred. She was being transported in a bobsled when the horses spooked. The sled tipped on to the girl, and her leg was broken in an unusual way - a large portion of the bone was splintered. The country doctor was unable to do much of anything in 1928. The wound festered and was "open" for nearly three years. Small pieces of splintered bone worked their way out, along with the infection. The pain was intense, and the little girl had to hobble along using a homemade crutch her father made for her from the limb of a tree. Her mother tore a bedsheet to provide padding for the crutch. Three years later, the wound had closed, but infection built up inside. Dr. Stafford, a country doctor from Sumner, was called to the farm, arriving by horse and buggy. He lanced the wound and later a large splinter of bone, three inches by a half inch worked its way out. It had a sharp point at one end. The family sought help for their daughter in Iowa City, but the doctors could do nothing. Eventually the wound seemed to heal for a period of several years. Mardell worked as a hired girl for her sister, Nada Hurd, and began dating Gerald Davis. She married Gerald in 1937, and the young couple set off for Barrington, Ill., where Gerald managed a large dairy farm, not far from the city of Chicago. Gerald worked along with three hired men, using milking machines. Occasionally she and Gerald would take in the sights of Chicago, traveling by train into the city where they would window shop. Back in her Illinois farming community, Mardell did not let an old injury prevent her from going dancing with her husband. "Oh, we went nearly every Saturday night at the Blue Moon in Barrington," Mrs. Davis gushes. But times have changed, "I was just out there a year ago, and there is nothing there. It is all part of Chicago now." Davis said she was never really free of pain in her leg, but in the early 1940s, the trouble escalated. She went to Rochester, Minn., where she says she was told, "Go home 'til you can't live any longer," referring to the pain. At Passavant Hospital in Chicago, surgeons removed an infected one- inch-square section from her leg bone. Bone grafts were not done then, so there was a visible indention in the already scarred leg. The couple returned to Iowa to help Gerald's brother honor a contract to farm land near Eldora and Hubbard. Gerald borrowed $1,000, purchased a team of horses, a plow, and two or three cows, and they began farming in central Iowa in the mid 1940s. Davis said she left a beautiful new home in Illinois, to make a home for her growing family in a run-down house with no running water. There was an outside toilet and a pump at the end of the walk. She had to haul water in and heat it in a boiler to wash clothes. The stove was held up by a brick where the leg had fallen off. Two more sons were born after the move to Iowa, and the busy farmwife kept a huge garden to feed her growing family. She canned, standing over the intense heat of a cookstove-meat, vegetables, and fruits, including such unusual items as ground cherries and rhubarb. "We had to do everything by hand." Her only outlet from the work of farm life was her church activities. "People didn't go like they do today," she said. "It was the only way farm people could get together." She continued her social involvement in the Randalia Methodist Church when the family moved back to Northeast Iowa in 1955. She also joined the Farm Bureau Women. She and Gerald farmed a diversified operation of dairy, hogs, and chickens for nearly 20 years in Northeast Iowa. In 1974 they retired and moved to a house in Maynard. Gerald died in 1989. Davis continued living in her own home another 15 years. But as the years passed, the damaged leg began to turn inward, making it difficult for her to get around. She persevered to age 86, when she moved to her new apartment in Fayette. Davis admits it was a "big change"-just a few months ago she was driving her own car. This woman who has worked hard physically all her life, regrets she cannot work any more. In the same breath, she said, "I love it here. The people are all so friendly. The food is wonderful." Surrounded by family members and photos of her beloved late husband, their three sons, the 11 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren, Mardell Davis is a gracious hostess, someone with whom it is pleasant to spend an afternoon.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Mardell M Cue Davis's memorial?
Mardell M Cue Davis's memorial is located at: Warringal Cemetery, Heidelberg, Banyule City, Australia.
When did Mardell M Cue Davis death?
Mardell M Cue Davis death on 2 Jul 2016 in Fayette, Fayette County, Iowa, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Mardell M Cue Davis's memorial?
Latitude: -37.7524048
Longitude: 145.0586967

Family Members:

Parent

Spouse

Gerald Hugh “Red” Davis

(1912 - 1991)

Siblings

(1888 - 1970)

(1902 - 1991)

(1904 - 1991)

(1907 - 1990)

(1908 - 2003)

(1911 - 1988)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Warringal Cemetery
Heidelberg, Banyule City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.7524048, 145.0586967

2. Heidelberg Old Cemetery
Heidelberg, Banyule City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.7479500, 145.0656200

3. Preston General Cemetery
Bundoora, Banyule City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.7201480, 145.0405825

4. Northcote Cemetery
Northcote, Darebin City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.7697770, 145.0063030

5. Boroondara General Cemetery
Kew, Boroondara City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.8036300, 145.0396300

6. Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum Cemetery
Fairfield, Darebin City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.7983900, 145.0113330

7. Coburg Pine Ridge Cemetery
Coburg, Moreland City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.7414741, 144.9825249

8. Greensborough Cemetery
Greensborough, Banyule City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.7004060, 145.1006880

9. Templestowe Cemetery and Memorial Gardens
Templestowe, Manningham City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.7594730, 145.1418370

10. Our Lady Help of Christians Church
Brunswick, Moreland City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.7776670, 144.9783140

11. Pentridge Prison Cemetery
Coburg, Moreland City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.7391910, 144.9696270

12. Waldau Cemetery
Doncaster East, Manningham City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.7776130, 145.1455570

13. Christ Church Grounds
Hawthorn, Boroondara City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.8189650, 145.0182680

14. Eltham Cemetery
Eltham, Nillumbik Shire, Australia
Coordinate: -37.7266370, 145.1504720

15. Saint Mark’s Anglican Church Cemetery
Fitzroy, Yarra City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.8019450, 144.9817130

16. Plenty River Pioneer Children's Cemetery
Greensborough, Banyule City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.6876217, 145.1168695

17. Melbourne General Cemetery
Carlton North, Melbourne City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.7855000, 144.9665000

18. Thomastown Wesleyan Cemetery
Thomastown, Whittlesea City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.6810700, 145.0121100

19. St Katherine's Cemetery
Saint Helena, Banyule City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.6924510, 145.1288510

20. Melbourne Museum
Carlton, Melbourne City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.8032050, 144.9715150

21. Saint Patrick's Metropolitan Cathedral
Melbourne, Melbourne City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.8100610, 144.9764660

22. Fawkner Memorial Park
Fawkner, Moreland City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.7134900, 144.9603800

23. St Peter’s Eastern Hill Cemetery
Melbourne, Melbourne City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.8097700, 144.9754930

24. Parkville War Memorial
Parkville, Melbourne City, Australia
Coordinate: -37.7917092, 144.9582062