Gary Daves enjoyed the freedom of the open road, say his friends who mourn his passing after Daves died in a head-on collision over the weekend while riding his motorcycle.
“Gary was a very good friend of mine. We rode a lot together,” said Daryl Bush.
Mr. Daves, 55, the owner and operator of Daves Construction of Greenwood, was killed Saturday night near Gore Springs in Grenada County. The Grenada County Sheriff’s Department worked the accident. Details were unavailable this morning.
Services for Mr. Daves will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Wilson & Knight Funeral Home.
Bush said that he and Mr. Daves had taken an 1,800-mile motorcycle tour of Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina in the fall.
In addition to his construction business, Mr. Daves also owned several rental properties, Bush said.
Bush’s nephew, Ronnie Bush, said, “Gary was a really good guy. ... He was one of the better contractors in Greenwood.” He said Mr. Daves, by helping to improve living conditions of many properties, helped improve the quality of life of many families.
Capt. Byron O’Bryant of the Greenwood Police Department said he and Mr. Daves began their friendship in the 1990s, when O’Bryant was a patrol officer. “He was a real down-to-earth guy. He’d do anything for you,” said O’Bryant.
Mr. Daves made a specialty of buying residential property, remodeling it and then reselling it, O’Bryant said. “He really hustled to get where he was at in life. What he got in life, he earned it.”
Mr. Daves was preceded in death by a brother, Steven Daves.
He is survived by two sons, Bryce Daves of Memphis and Lawson Daves of Boston; a daughter, Brittney Daves of Oxford; his parents; two brothers and two sisters.
•Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
