Businessman Curly led full, colourful life (From Worcester News)

Businessman Curly led full, colourful life

10:00pm Tuesday 18th September 2012 in News By Mike Pryce

HIS hair may have disappeared some time ago, but now well known Worcester businessman and all round colourful character Alan ‘Curly’ Davis has gone too.

The man who was only given a 25 per cent chance of surviving a heart operation 27 years ago and whose career covered everything from the motor trade to catering to acting as a doorman at a strip club, has died while on holiday in Tenerife aged 68.

“Dad lived life to the full and fought so hard. His body may have left us but he will live on in every single one of us,” said his daughter Nikki Cole.

Although born in Middlesbrough, Mr Davis had lived near Worcester virtually all his life, his family having moved to Whittington when he was two. He was educated at Whittington Primary, Pershore Upper School and then Worcester Technical School.

“From an early age dad loved his football and had a passion for cars,” said Mrs Cole.

“Both would play a pivotal role in his life, one as work and the other stuck in front of the TV.

“Unfortunately at the age of 10 a heart murmur was found and for him to be told he could not play football or do anything active must have been devastating news. It also meant him missing out on a large amount of school time.”

Defying the doctors, Mr Davis carried on playing football successfully at youth level, until he was forced to give up in his late teens.

“This enabled dad to concentrate on his other passion, cars,” his daughter said.

“He went on to work as a mechanic in several garages and eventually started his own businesses at Larkhill, Claines, Comer Road and in 1975 Warndon.

“He then progressed into haulage and car rentals. In his 30s and 40s he won various motorway recovery contracts, where he spent most of his time in a caravan by junctions six and seven of the M5.

“He became well known to the police, who were frequent visitors to his caravan for cups of tea and a few rounds of cards.

“Fond stories would emerge of one of his men washing his dirty pants in a large pan by day and using the same pan in the evening to cook rabbit stew, which the police would unknowingly eat and dad would find very amusing.

“More businesses were ventured into, a fish and chip shop, the Five Ways hotel and pub in Worcester and, more recently, a doorman at a strip club. He had his fingers in so many pies.”

Father of three and a step-father, Mr Davis married most recently last year, in a flamboyant ceremony in Las Vegas.

For the last 10 years he had sponsored Worcester Male Voice Choir and members will be singing at his funeral service at St Philip and St James Church, Whittington, at 11.30am on Thursday, which will be followed by cremation.