Marvin spent the last 10 years of his life at his home in Callao, Va.

He read Time and Consumer Reports in the mornings. He watched Britcoms on Maryland Public Television, ch. 22, in the afternoons. His favorite Britcom was Last of the Summer Wine.

My father was a great mechanic. He could fix anything and do it well. The next generation of my family's mechanics were not as effective or efficient.

My father was also a good carpenter, plumber, and electrician. He was a "jack of all trades," to use an old cliché. He was good at many jobs.

My father tinkered on projects until he was unable to work anymore.

He died on December 4, 2008.

On the encouragement of my uncle, James Lee Davis, a building engineer for Smithsonian Institution, Marvin applied for a position as an auto mechanic with Smithsonian's Physical Plant in Suitland, Md.

Marvin moved to Clinton, Md., in 1978, after accepting this job. He worked for Smithsonian for 20 years.

Marvin lived with his brother and sister-in-law in Clinton. Later, he rented a room from an acquaintance.

Marvin returned home on Wednesday nights to tend to his vegetable garden in the summer months. He planted many kinds of vegetables: potatoes, tomatoes, corn, carrots, onions, squash, zucchini, turnips, greens, and cabbage.

He visited my mother and me on weekends. He liked to do fix-up projects at home then. He built a barn, for example, in the 1980s.

After a series of health problems, he retired from Smithsonian in 1998.

My parents bought 2 acres of farmland in an agricultural community called Mundy Point in Callao, Va. In 1973, they moved into a newly built three-bedroom, two-bathroom home.

Marvin and a friend of his, Hiram "Junior" King, built this home. My mother named this home "The Pines" before she died.

My older siblings lived there until shortly after they graduated from high school. One by one, they moved out, for jobs, school, or family. By 1980, I was alone with my mother there.

My father retired from J.C. Moss & Son in 1978.

Marvin worked for J.C. Moss & Son, a Chevrolet dealership in Kinsale, Va., for 31 years. He was an auto mechanic and tow truck driver.

My father married my mother, Frances Leona Morris, on March 25, 1950. He was 20. She was 17. They lived in an apartment in Kinsale, Va., for 2 years.

The Davises bought a two-story home in Sandy Point, Va. They had four children: Betty Dianne in 1951, Linda Gail in 1952, Dennis Brian in 1957, and Stephen Thomas in 1959. They had a fifth child, Kay Frances (me), in 1970.

My father had limited formal education. He did not complete high school.

When Marvin wasn't living with his mother in Washington, DC, and delivering newspapers, he was helping his grandfather farm in Sandy Point, Va.

My father also worked briefly for Potomac Supply, a lumber yard in Kinsale, Va., when he was in his teens.

Marvin Thomas Davis was born in a small farmhouse in Village, Va. This information came to me from my mother, Frances M. Davis (frances-m-davis/forevermissed.com).

Marvin was the oldest son of Evelyn Sarah Davis (b. March 18, 1912; d. February 8, 2003). She is buried at National Memorial Park in Falls Church, Va.

Evelyn was the middle child in a large family of tenant farmers in the Northern Neck region. She had Marvin in 1929 when she was 17. My grandmother's family members are buried at Coan Baptist Church in Rainswood, Va.

Evelyn moved to Washington, DC, and married Dominic Sampogna. He had a large family of sons and daughters. This was his second marriage.

She lived in Arlington, Va., after his death.