Mrs. Mary Jane Davis, the 1994-1995 recipient of the Monsignor Gerald Lawrence Lewis Award for Excellence in Teaching, passed away on December 23, 2016.

Mrs. Davis and her husband, Bill, moved to Raleigh in 1975. In 1982 she began teaching middle school science at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School. In a nomination letter for the Lewis Award, Mrs. Davis’ pastor, Monsignor Jeffrey Ingham wrote

“She has an uncanny ability to communicate her own love of her science discipline to her students. As a result, they develop an eagerness to learn and develop insight into science matters.”

Mrs. Davis is well remembered for introducing the national competition Science Olympiad to the OLL students. She felt that “Science Olympiad brought new life to science” at the school. Her passion for the experiment based program took many students to the state and national finals. Mrs. Davis retired from OLL in 1996.

Anne Stahel and Mary Jane Davis 2012