Michael Gary Davis

He passed away on March 22, 2025, at the age 78 at West Virginia Caring Hospice in Elkins, West Virginia.

Michael grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and attended public school in Cleveland Heights. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from The Ohio State University in Columbus, and taught English in Baltimore for a short time.

In 1973, Michael and his first wife, Carol Freeman, traveled to West Virginia looking for affordable land and bought 50 acres in Lewis County.

He was married in the mid-1970s for the second of three times to Courtenay McKinley, the mother of his son, Gabriel.

With his third wife, Laurie Gundersen, Michael traveled to Arrowmont School of Craft in North Carolina and took a class in shibori dye techniques from Yoshiko Wada, a shibori artist and historian who greatly influenced both of their creative lives.

During their 17 years of marriage, Michael and Laurie had three children, Ariel, Aaron and Nellie.

In Lewis County, Laurie and Michael formed Linn Dye Works and later Gundersen Davis Studio. Using the arashi shibori technique they had learned from Yoshiko Wada, they designed a line of dyed clothing and marketed their artworks at craft festivals and shows including the Baltimore Winter Market and the Smithsonian Craft Show. In 1990, the Davis family moved to Elkins.

In 1992, an ensemble of Gundersen Davis shibori-dyed wearable art pieces was juried into the third International Textile Competition curated that year at the Kyoto Museum in Japan, a prestigious event in the art world. Michael traveled to Japan for the first of several times for the opening.

In 2000, Michael bought a campground along the Shavers Fork River near Elkins, where he created Water Gap Retreat, a small compound with a cabin and several shelters that featured his shibori-dyed fabrics. There he also sponsored a series of art and craft workshops taught by regional artists and writers.

Also in the early 2000s, Michael formed Shibori West Textiles. His shibori designs — including kimono, tunics, wraps, and other garments — are prized by collectors and treasured by the people who wear them.

Michael is survived by two sisters, Jo and Miriam; by his four children and their spouses, Gabriel Davis (Lissa Regnier), Ariel Valentine (T.R. Valentine), Aaron Davis (Allison Davis) and Nellie Rose Gundersen Davis; by six grandchildren, Bobby, Luke, Naomi, Wayne, Owen and Nicholas; and by his partner for a number of years, Colleen Anderson.

In lieu of flowers, Michael’s family would appreciate donations to Amnesty International or Saranam Retreat Center in Montrose, West Virginia.

Donations may be made online at saranamwv.com, or by check mailed to Saranam Retreat Center, 531 Moon Run Road, Kerens, WV 26276.