Ms. Stephanie Cecile Davis

Atlanta Municipal Court Judge Stephanie C. Davis of Atlanta, passed June 29, 2023.  

The Celebration of Life Service will be held on Friday, July 7th, 2023 at 10 a.m at St. Paul of the Cross Catholic Church, 551 Harwell Road NW, Atlanta, GA. Interment will follow at Westview Cemetery, 1980 Westview Drive SW, Atlanta GA. The viewing will be on Thursday, July 6th, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. at Friendship Baptist Church, 80 Walnut Street SW, Atlanta, GA beginning with the Omega Omega Service of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. which is open to all. The public viewing will continue until 8:30 pm. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Carl Williams Funeral Directors, 492 Larkin Street SW, Atlanta GA.   These services will be recorded and streamed live. If the event is interrupted at any time due to technical issues, the entire event will be uploaded and available to view later in the day. Please copy and paste the link to share, or simply click on  the link to view the event.

https://vimeo.com/event/3545702

Stephanie Cecile Davis was born on May 22,1958, in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a daughter of her hometown and the eldest daughter of long-time Atlanta physician Dr. Albert Miles Davis and civic leader and former Atlanta City Councilmember Myrtle Reid Davis. Stephanie attended elementary school at St. Paul of the Cross Catholic Church through 7th grade and Northside High School as one of its first Black students. Stephanie was an exceptional student and very active in student government and many other extracurricular activities. In her senior year, she was selected by the faculty to be awarded the Atlanta Journal Cup, recognizing the best all-around senior at Northside. 

Stephanie dreamed of attending school in California and attended Stanford University, majoring in Communications. While at Stanford, she pledged Delta Sigma Theta, Epsilon Nu Chapter, a city-wide chapter in San Francisco. Sometimes multiple times a week, from November to April of her junior year, Stephanie traveled 40 miles one way to attend pledging activities. In 1979, she became one of the first members of Delta Sigma Theta on the campus of Stanford University. Stephanie’s passion for sports was a major part of her life, serving as manager of the Stanford men’s basketball team.

Upon graduating from Stanford in 1980, she began a career working in San Francisco, and in September 1980, she suffered a severe spinal cord injury in a devastating car crash. Despite this tragic accident, Stephanie took the LSAT a few months later and enrolled as a law student at Emory University in the Fall of 1981. 

As a young lawyer, Stephanie served as a law clerk for Fulton County Superior Court Judge Clarence Cooper and as a staff attorney for several judges in Georgia’s State Court of Appeals. For eighteen years, Stephanie served as a Magistrate Judge of Fulton County, including five years as Chief Magistrate. In 2021, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms appointed Judge Stephanie C. Davis to the Atlanta Municipal Court, where she dutifully served until her passing. 

Stephanie is affiliated with the State Bar of Georgia, Gate City Bar Association, and the Council of Magistrate Court Judges. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Art Foundry Condominiums at Atlantic Commons Homeowners Association, the Atlantic Station Civic Association, and the Shepherd Center Advisory Board.

In 2010, Stephanie was recognized for her advocacy of laws protecting the rights of the physically challenged. Fulton County awarded her the Eagle Award on the 15th Anniversary of the Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. She was also awarded the Horace T. Ward Legacy Award by the Gate City Bar Association in 2012.

Stephanie was a huge fan of the Atlanta Falcons and her Stanford Cardinals. One of her greatest joys was seeing the Jackson State University Marching Band, the “Sonic Boom of the South.” She also loved music and her family.  

Stephanie is lovingly remembered by her mother, Myrtle Reid Davis, and sisters Stacey Davis Stewart, Julia-Ellen Craft Davis, and Vicki Davis Williams; brothers-in-law Leo Williams and Jarvis C. Stewart; three nieces, Madeleine and Savannah Stewart and Rani Robinson; nephew, Brandon Pinkston; and many more in her extended family. 

She will be missed not only for her incredible service to the Atlanta community but also for her fierce advocacy of the rights of the physically challenged. Mostly, Stephanie will be remembered for the amazing example she set for us all of how to live life to the fullest, without limitation, overcoming all obstacles and challenges - with amazing grace and joy. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Ms. Stephanie Cecile Davis, please visit our floral store.