From the playing fields of East Texas to entrepreneurship in Houston, the man affectionately known as “Poppa D-MARS” built a legacy rooted in family, hard work, faith and helping others succeed.
Long before there was a D-MARS brand, there was Booker T. Davis Jr.
There was the young athlete from East Texas who learned about competition playing alongside his brothers. There was the coach who spent countless hours on football fields and baseball diamonds teaching young athletes that what they did after the game mattered just as much as what they did during it. There was the businessman who understood the value of hard work and wasn’t afraid to take a chance on himself. And there was the father whose lessons about discipline, integrity and family would eventually become part of the foundation his children carried into their own lives and careers.
Davis, affectionately known as “Poppa D-MARS,” died Aug. 3, 2026, just 16 days shy of his 86th birthday. But for a man who spent more than eight decades building, teaching, coaching and pouring into others, his story is measured by far more than the years between his birth and death.
It can be found in the family he raised, the businesses he helped build, the athletes he coached and the countless people who still remember his contagious smile.
“My father left a legacy that will live on through his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” said his son, Keith “Mr. D-Mars” Davis. “We will continue to honor the lessons he taught us and pass them on to future generations.”
An East Texas Foundation
Born Aug. 19, 1940, in Leggett, Texas, Davis was the son of Allie Pearl and Booker Davis Sr. He grew up in Leggett and Livingston in a family where discipline, perseverance and integrity weren’t simply talked about. They were expected.
Athletics became one of the earliest places where those lessons took root.
Davis attended Dunbar High School, excelling in football and baseball, and the competitive spirit he developed playing with his brothers eventually evolved into something larger: a passion for coaching and mentoring young people.
Over the years, he coached football, baseball, women’s softball and numerous Little League teams. The victories mattered, but the lessons mattered more. Davis used sports to teach teamwork, discipline, preparation and character, values his own children say he practiced as much as he preached.
In 2024, decades of that work were recognized when Davis was inducted into the Prairie View Interscholastic League Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
For a man who had invested so much of himself in young athletes, the honor represented more than recognition of a coaching record. It acknowledged the generations of young people who had passed through his care.
A Businessman Willing to Bet on Himself
The same drive Davis brought to athletics followed him into business.
After moving to Houston, he learned the trucking industry while working for Budweiser-Anheuser Busch. But eventually, working hard for someone else’s company wasn’t enough. Davis took the entrepreneurial leap and created Davis & Sons Moving and Staffing.
The company provided moving and staffing services to businesses throughout Houston and across Texas, while also giving Davis something that mattered deeply to him: an opportunity to create jobs for other people.
Later, he joined his sons in launching D-MARS Trucking Service, which served major oil and gas industry clients, including Shell, Exxon and Weatherford.
It became another family enterprise and another example of what Davis had spent years teaching his children: Work hard. Build something. Take care of your family. And when possible, create opportunities for somebody else along the way.
He retired at 67, but the lessons remained.
His son Keith Davis, known professionally as Mr. D-MARS, said his father’s influence wasn’t rooted in grand speeches. It came from watching him live the principles he expected his children to embrace.
“Thank you for the love, guidance and values you instilled in each of us,” he wrote in a tribute to his father. “You taught us that hard work, integrity and family are the foundation of a meaningful life. More than your words, it was your example that shaped who we are today.”
Those words help explain why the D-MARS name represents more than a business identity for the Davis family. Behind it is a father who spent decades modeling the work ethic and determination his children would carry forward.
Coach at Home, Too
For all his business accomplishments and years of coaching, Davis’s most important team was the one at home.
He coached each of his children in their athletic pursuits and later watched with pride as his grandchildren and great-grandchildren continued the family’s athletic tradition.
His daughter Yasmine, affectionately known as Peaches, and his grandchildren remembered a father and grandfather whose lessons extended far beyond sports.
“Thank you for your sacrifices, for teaching us the meaning of family, and for instilling the importance of hard work and education,” they wrote in their tribute. “Our bonds will never be forgotten.”
Those bonds were at the center of Davis’s life.
He cherished his children, James, Malcolm, Kevin, Keith, Booker T. III and Yasmine, along with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And throughout the years of raising children, coaching teams, building businesses and navigating life’s inevitable challenges, there was Daisy.
His wife remembered Davis not through his accomplishments, but through the intimacy of the life they shared.
“You were the love of my life, my greatest blessing, and my best friend,” Daisy wrote. “Every smile, every journey and every day by your side is a treasure I will hold close for the rest of my life.”
She ended simply: “I love you, Sweetie. Always and forever.”
MoreThan a Name
Boney said being present for the Davis family following Booker’s death was important precisely because of the relationships Davis spent his life cultivating.
“Poppa D-MARS was a funny man who always made me laugh with that contagious smile of his,” said Jeffrey Boney, who joined family and friends in honoring Davis. “He was a family man and a man who always handled business. It was clear how much he was loved and respected by everyone who knew him.”
It is a sentiment that fits the life Booker T. Davis Jr. lived.
Showing up mattered
He showed up for his wife. He showed up for his children. He showed up for young athletes who needed a coach. He showed up for people who needed employment. He showed up for his sons as they ventured into business. And as his family expanded to include grandchildren and great-grandchildren, he kept showing up, cheering for another generation with the same enthusiasm he had given the first.
His faith remained central throughout his life. Among his favorite passages was Psalm 23, with its promise of guidance through both green pastures and life’s darkest valleys.
Today, the businesses continue. The family continues. The lessons continue. And so does the name. But perhaps the greatest measure of Booker T. Davis Jr.’s legacy isn’t that people remember “Poppa D-MARS.” It’s that the people who knew him best are still living what he taught them.
