PUEBLO WEST, Colo. — Charles Preston “Chuck” Davis, 69, passed away unexpectedly on May 10, in his home. He was born Nov. 19, 1944, in Wichita. In 1962 he graduated from Great Bend High School, and in 1966 from Utah State University with a bachelor’s degree in wildlife management.
He joined the Navy in 1966, where he served as hospital corpsman and medical photographer aboard the hospital ship USS Repose.
He worked at the Brit Spaugh Zoo in Great Bend during his summers in the 1960s and became the zoo curator in the 1970s after his service in the US Navy. In 1972, he started working as a wildlife biologist for the US Army Corps of Engineers.  He transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 1976 and spent the next 39 years working with them until his retirement in 2007. In 1972, he married the zoo dietician Connie Lou Kitson, originally from Hoisington and Great Bend, and in 1986 they had a daughter, Ashley. After spending the first 41 years of their marriage migrating from state-to-state, they settled in Pueblo West in 2013.
Chuck was an enthusiastic genealogist and haunted many graveyards in Missouri, Arkansas and Texas, tracking down relatives. He also served as the administrator of a website dedicated to the USS Repose, the hospital ship upon which Chuck served during the Vietnam War.  He was a dedicated husband and father and spent the majority of his time with his wife, daughter, and pets. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, golfing, and reading in his remaining free time.
Survivors include his wife Connie of 42 years and daughter Ashley Davis of Pueblo, Colo.; one sister, Cindy Rice of Indianapolis, Ind.; and one brother, Bill Davis (Pat Evans Davis) of Spring Hill; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, H.C. Davis and Uldine (Burroughs) Davis.
Funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, May 16, at Romero Funeral Home in Pueblo, Colo. Interment will be at the Mountain View Cemetery immediately following the service.

Funeral arrangements provided by
Romero Family Funeral Home Inc.**
110 Cleveland St.
Pueblo, CO 81004
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, May 16, 2014