John B. Davenport

Age 69, of Roseville; died peacefully on Feb. 25, 2021, at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, of complications of diabetes following a battle with COVID-19. 

John was born June 5, 1951, in Grand Forks, N.D., to Willard and Margaret Davenport, who taught and worked, respectively, at the University of North Dakota. John graduated from Grand Forks Central High School in 1969, attended UND for a year, and then transferred to Macalester College, graduating in 1973. After receiving a master’s degree in library science from the University of Denver and working at the Chester Fritz Library at UND, John was named archivist at the College of St. Thomas in 1977, launching a 24-year career at St. Thomas that saw him rise to head of the Special Collections department. 

As acting director of O’Shaughnessy Library in the early 1990s, John oversaw the $8 million project that more than doubled the size of the library. He earned two graduate degrees from the University of Minnesota, including a Ph.D in history, before joining the faculty of North Central University in Minneapolis in 2001. He taught courses in American, European, and church history at North Central, published several journal articles, and became department chairman before retiring in 2017. In the meantime he earned a third master’s degree, in Eastern Christian theology, from the University of Balamand in Lebanon. 

John was a man of profound Christian faith who spent a lifetime seeking how to best serve God. He had a towering intellect, a biting and often hilarious wit, and a deep sense of right and wrong. But he also enjoyed his “imperial felines” Prisca and Thekla, as well as winter vacations on Harbour Island in the Bahamas, and his fascination for toy dinosaurs and Godzilla films was a source of endless wonder for the many friends who survive and will miss him.

John was preceded in death by his parents and his brother James, who died in infancy. He is survived by his cousins, Sumner, Sandy, Steven, & Carlton Hunt, and his many close friends.  

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 12 noon on Wednesday, March 3 at THE CHURCH OF ST. AGNES, 548 Lafond Ave, St. Paul with visitation starting at 11:30 AM. A wake will be held from 4 to 8 PM on Tuesday, March 2 at MUELLER-BIES FUNERAL HOME-ROSEVILLE, 2130 N. Dale St at Co Rd B.

Memorials are suggested to the Davenport Family Fund at the University of North Dakota Foundation, Grand Forks, or Holy Family Catholic Adoption Agency in Crystal.

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