'Miss Irene,' Area Philanthropist, Dies at 72

Eva Irene Davis, a longtime philanthropist and the face of Capt. Billy's Crab House in Newburg, died Jan. 1. She was 72.

Davis, known to legions of Charles County residents as Miss Irene, had received a diagnosis of ovarian cancer in October, friends said. Although she had grown increasingly ill, she celebrated New Year's Eve with friends at her La Plata home. She died the next morning.

Davis was not a Charles native -- she spent the first 35 years of her life in North Carolina, the District and Prince George's County. But within a few years of arriving, she became one of the county's most generous givers and friendliest faces.

Known for her cheerful Southern aphorisms and love of local sports, she organized dozens of charity events and made significant financial contributions to several nonprofit organizations. Her friends included the powerful -- state Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D-Charles) was among those scheduled to speak at her funeral -- as well as the marginalized.

"She was the only person I know that had 50 best friends and could manage it," said Nancy Gasparovic, a longtime friend. "She didn't have any immediate blood relatives, but she was part of a huge family here."

Davis graduated from high school in West Jefferson, N.C., a year early to help her parents run their farm and general store. After a cousin mentioned that there were plenty of high-paying jobs in the Washington area, she applied to the FBI, which sent an agent to perform a background check while she was picking beans in her family's field. In 1956, she joined the agency as an administrative assistant, a job she held for 28 years.

Shortly after starting her career in Washington, she met Mack Davis, a fellow FBI staff member who became her husband. He did not remain with the agency long, eventually forming a development firm, the Davis Corp., in La Plata. The couple moved to La Plata in the early 1970s, buying a house on Ellenwood Drive, where they hosted dozens of fundraisers, dinners and cocktail parties over the years.

Davis "was a true Southern lady," said Janie Schultz, a friend. "Every time she saw you, she embraced you and invited you to her home."

The Davises did not have children but filled their time serving the community, friends said. They raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Melwood, a regional nonprofit agency that provides job training to disabled people, and Miss Irene served on the board of Melwood and other groups. She and her husband funded the rehabilitation wing at Civista Medical Center in La Plata, which bears their names.

Davis held season tickets to Washington Redskins games and University of Maryland men's basketball games, and she attended the annual Atlantic Coast Conference basketball tournament. One of her cherished memories was traveling to Wimbledon in England, friends said.

"She was just rabid about sports," Gasparovic said. "When she wasn't at games, she had a hand in almost every charity golf tournament around."

After retiring from the FBI following her husband's death in 1983, Davis worked for the Civista Health Foundation. She began dating George "Billy" Robertson Jr., known as Capt. Billy at his crab house, and she became the face of the restaurant as its lead hostess. She informally adopted Robertson's stepdaughter, Celene Graves, who owns the eatery.

"She came into my life and took me under her wing like her own child," Graves said.

A funeral was scheduled yesterday at La Plata United Methodist Church.