Virginia Dale Davis

Virginia Dale Davis passed away on May 28,2026 at Lake Wales Hospital. She attended schools in Haines City and graduated in 1963 with Honors. Dale studied piano with Billye Mullins Smith which led to her attending Vassar College, graduating in 1967 with a BA in music. She received a Master of Arts degree in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University. Dale lived and studied for two years in Chiapas, Mexico with the Lacandon Maya Indians in the Yucatan, earning a PhD in Anthropology from Tulane University.

Dale was a computer specialist at AETNA in Hartford, CT working with the Univac

computer and received a CLU degree. In Detroit, Michigan, she consulted with factories on their “lean” efficiency manufacturing procedures. She co-authored a book on the

subject which won the Shingo Award, an international prize recognizing literature in the field of operational excellence.

Her teaching career included the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Sleepy Hill Middle School, Discovery Academy, and Bartow High School. Dale was a member of Wednesday Book Club and enjoyed photography and growing orchids.

Survivors include her brother, Bruce Davis and his wife, Susan, her sister, Donna and her husband, Jerry Markuson, and nephews Mitch Davis, Ben Markuson, and Andrew Markuson. Dale was preceded in death by her parents, Mary and Hal Davis.

The family will greet friends at a reception in Dale’s memory on Sunday, July 12 from 1-3pm at Southern Dunes Country Club.