E. Lloyd Davis, who delivered the AFRO as a boy and later become a globe-trotting diplomat, died May 26 at the age of 90.
E. Lloyd Davis
Born in 1926, Davis began demonstrating his keen industrious trait at an early age. From scrubbing the marble steps in his Baltimore neighborhood to delivering the AFRO-American newspaper at the age of 5. One of his early claims to fame came when, as a carrier for the AFRO-American Newspaper, he sold $3,000 worth of World War II bonds to Duke Ellington.
He attended Douglass High School before he enlisted in the U.S. Army (1944-1946) where he served time in Germany. After being honorably discharged he attended Morgan State College where he pledged the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and received his B.S. in economics and accounting. After Morgan he continued his education at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. where he received his Master’s in accounting and management. While attending Catholic University, he also worked in the administration office at Howard University. It was here that he began dating and later married Rebecca Howard, a pharmacist. They had three children, Lloyd, Jr, Howard and Kathleen. Rebecca preceded him in death in 2008.
Upon graduation from Catholic University, he began work with the Baltimore Housing Authority. But it was not long before he was back at his alma mater, Morgan State College, as a lecturer of economics, accounting and business management. But in 1966 he made a dramatic shift in his professional trajectory; he joined the U.S. Department of State and began his career as a Foreign Service Officer in the diplomatic corps. With family in tow, he served in the American Embassies of Ghana, France and several countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America.
He was an avid numismatist and a devout Christian dedicated to Grace Presbyterian Church, where he has been a member since childhood.
He retired in 1991 and settled back in his beloved hometown of Baltimore.
He is survived by his children and several nephews and nieces.