3 min read

Sandra Mary Davis

FALMOUTH – Sandra Mary Davis, 86, passed away on June 23, 2026, at Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough after a brief illness.

Sandra was born on June 12, 1940, in Boothbay Harbor, daughter of the late Floyd D. Van Keuren and Beatrice (Johndro). Sandra grew up in Portland and attended elementary school at St. Patrick’s Catholic School. She was further educated at King Junior High School, and graduated from Deering High School in 1958.

She began her career with New England Telephone in Portland, working as a phone operator and then a manager. She met her husband, Gerald “Jerry” Davis in the early 1960s. After seeing a photo in the Portland Press Herald of him as he returned from service in the Peace Corps, she had a mutual friend set them up on a blind date and they were married Aug. 8, 1964, the last couple married at St. Patrick’s Chapel on Congress Street in Portland.

As they raised their three young children, Sandra and Jerry found shared passion for their children’s hobbies, coaching sports, and politics. Jerry was a football athlete at Deering, and Sandra, who graduated from Deering four years after Jerry, was lead majorette in the marching band. They loved each other deeply and enjoyed success in coaching sports and being involved in politics. Jerry and Sandra coached together for many years in Falmouth Little League. Sandra was often heard cheering and coaching from the bench as she kept meticulous scorebooks and statistics. She assisted in other of Jerry’s coaching endeavors at Portland High School such as girl’s soccer and indoor track.

When Jerry retired from teaching at Portland High School and decided to run for state office, Sandra was the backbone of his political campaigns. With Sandra’s expertise and guidance, Jerry won four terms for Falmouth in the State House of Representatives and one in the Senate. On the night of an election, it gave them great joy to watch the election results come in and celebrate another victory.

Once her three children were off to high school, Sandra went back to work at Portland High School as a school secretary, specializing in data management. She was heralded as the school district’s hardest worker several times and for many years took on the difficult task of creating class schedules for over 100 teachers and 1200 students. She also ushered in a computerized attendance system and helped many assistant principals over her nearly 30 years of service. Sandra then went on to work half days at Casco Bay High School, managing student data until she was 80 years old, finally retiring in 2021.

Sandra was predeceased by her loving husband of nearly 60 years, Gerald M. Davis (2024); and her younger brother, Peter Van Keuren.

She is survived by her three children, Brian and his partner Deirdre, Brett and his wife Christina, and Katie and her husband Jeff Brown. Sandra was a loving grandmother to her 12 grandchildren, Cheyanne and her husband Brendan, Nathaniel, Gerald, Brett Jr., Benjamin, Stephanie and her fiancé Jesse, Ruth, Mason, John, Liberty, Josefina, and Saoirse; and two great-grandchildren, Barrett and Boden, the children of Cheyanne and Brendan.

Family and friends are invited to attend visiting hours from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, July 10, at the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Homes, 1024 Broadway, South Portland. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 11, at the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Home Chapel, burial to follow at Calvary Cemetery.

To view Sandra’s memorial page, or to leave an online condolence, please visit http://www.conroytullywalker.com .

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