Nona Aviles Davison
Birthday: 1932
Enrique and Jennifer Aviles are honoring Nona Aviles Davison for all the qualities indicated in the biography below. In addition we wanted her honored for the wonderful family gatherings each year on Mother's Day which included other friends and cousins and their children. Nona Aviles Davison was born in Guadalajara, Mexico where she attended the Colegio Nueva Galicia until she was nine. In 1941 she and her mother moved to Nogales, Arizona. She entered the school system (taught in English) and in the evening and during the summer she attended the "Macias Finishing School" to continue her Spanish education. She was graduated from Nogales High School. After graduation she worked as a secretary for Frank Barry Santa Cruz County Attorney and then for Dr. Zenas Barnard Noon. In 1951 she married Robert Davison and moved to Tucson, Arizona. A true soldadera and service driven leader Nona volunteered with the Tucson Medical Center (TMC) Auxiliary for over 30 years. She worked over 11,000 hours of volunteer service at TMC starting in 1972 when her youngest child was 2. She also taught Spanish as a second language to hundreds of students in Tucson including at Pima College Community members of the University of Arizona faculty and faculty wives medical personnel at TMC children and youth and retirees. Nona was the Mother of William Davison, Dr. Robert Davison Aviles, Marcela Davison Aviles, and Erika Davison Evensen. Grandmother to Morgan, Hannah, Mathew, Benjamin, Abigail, Alejandra, and Maximiliano, and Mother-in-Law to Peg Davison, Dan Evensen, and Pam Fulmer. While her children attended elementary school Nona served as a Brownie Leader and Cub Scout Den Mother. She praised her mother and grandmother for instilling in her the value of education both in and out of the classroom. Nona encouraged extracurricular activities such as band music sports and dance. She was proud to note that three of her children were graduated from college and a fourth acquired a certificate in mechanics. Nona was also the beloved Aunt and Matriarch for many family members including the Aviles family, the Barnetche family, the Davison family, the De La Rosa family, the Escalada family, and the Puig family. She passed her love of her Mexican and Spanish heritage to her children all of whom inherited her passion for antojitos Latin mariachi and classical music dancing history and family. She also served on various Boards and with other volunteer organizations including the Pimeria Alta Museum in Nogales Arizona the Kappa Delta Phi sorority. She was a lifetime member of the Dirty Dozen and the Nogalians Coffee Clutch. She was a critical conduit of community outreach pre-Internet. Her numerous friends would often say in speaking of her Don't Write Don't telegraph Just Tell Nona. If a person's heart is measured not by how much one loves but by how much one is loved by others Nona was deeply loved indeed.