Elizabeth Curtis grew up in Haynes, AR, and was the youngest of nine children. In 1934, she married Swep T. Davis, who served in the US Army Corps of Engineers. She moved with Swep to Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project. Their daughter, Claire, grew up in Oak Ridge, and their son, Swep T. Davis, Jr., was born there during the Manhattan Project. She and her family returned from Oak Ridge in 1948 to reside in Newton, MS and move to Hattiesburg, MS in 1962.
Davis passed away at the age of 101 on April 5, 2016.