James L.Davis

“It’s all gone… because someone wasn’t paying attention”

Just after lunch on August 14,  James was rear-ended and killed on his motorcycle in St. Paul, Minnesota. It happened when traffic on Interstate 94 came to a sudden halt. James was able to stop in time, but the driver behind him was not. This young woman was driving an un-insured SUV, with a revoked driver’s license, was speeding and following too close for conditions. The impact was so strong that James’s full-face helmet flew off his head and his body was dragged under the SUV along with his motorcycle. He died instantly.

There is no reason for this kind of traumatic death; the simple truth is that every choice we make has consequences and those decisions affect many people. We must always pay attention every moment we are driving—lives are at stake!!!

James left behind his wife Michelle of 13 months, both parents, four siblings, and many nieces and nephews. James and Michelle were days away from closing on their first home, in which they hoped to raise four children. They wed on the shores of Lake Superior on July 7, after knowing one another for only six months. They were best friends, and both knew upon meeting that they were meant to be together forever. James spent his days in his dream job as a supercomputer software engineer, which he attained in May . During evenings and weekends, he engaged in photography, running, car mechanics, classic novels, discussions about Star Trek and other movies, and as he told his wife, “finding ways to show you how much I love you”. He was romantic, insightful and an intellectual man, never too busy to listen or help in any way he could. He was loved and will be missed by all who knew him.