He was a good ol’ country boy from rural Amish Country in Ohio who was beloved by everybody with whom he came in contact. At Answers in Genesis, he was also known as something of a Renaissance man. Donald “Buddy” Davis passed away Wednesday morning. His talents in so many areas made Buddy as close to indispensable as a person could be at this apologetics ministry.
Buddy’s fingerprints are all over the Creation Museum. His exquisitely sculpted dinosaur models are seen throughout the world-class museum. Buddy was sculpting them even before AiG started. When AiG held one of its first seminars as a brand-new ministry in 1994, Buddy was asked to haul some of his dinosaurs to the seminar site in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, to be put on display. It’s where Buddy first met Ken Ham, AiG founder, and they immediately clicked. Buddy was to become one of Ken’s closest friends.
After the seminar, Ken and others were invited by Buddy and Kay to drive to their cabin for dinner, where the couple whipped up some “sloppy joe” sandwiches. Ken noticed a guitar hanging on the wall and asked Buddy if he was a musician. Buddy replied in the affirmative, and Ken asked him to play a couple of songs. Buddy had a very nice singing voice. Talent number two was discovered! Buddy could play several instruments in addition to the guitar, such as the mandolin and harmonica.
Soon, Buddy was asked to bring his dinosaur models (in all, he sculpted about 70 of them) and his singing voice to many AiG events in the ministry’s fledgling years. Buddy and Ken even traveled overseas on speaking ministry, which the boy from the country really enjoyed. Between singing and speaking engagements, including hundreds of children’s events, he continued to sculpt dinosaur models in preparation for the Creation Museum’s 2007 opening.
Buddy was also a talented songwriter—God-given talent number three. He was a genius at taking AiG’s main teaching points and putting them to song. Here is a sample where he summarized the museum’s “7 C’s of History.” In all, he recorded over a dozen CDs for AiG. Buddy declared that the purpose of his music was to proclaim the authority of God’s Word and proclaim Christ as our Savior.
Now, for talent number four: He was the writer of several books. Buddy, along with Kay, penned children’s books, such as Buddy Davis’ Cool Critters of the Ice Age and the beautifully illustrated Marvels of Creation: Breathtaking Birds.
Buddy became the host of his own video series—and talent number five was uncovered. Children and their parents visiting the Creation Museum have often recognized him as the star of the award-winning Creation Adventure Team videos or remembered him from an AiG conference. His amiable and folksy screen presence (sometimes goofy) has been enjoyed by millions. He was a natural in front of a camera.
Oh, and there’s more. He was an explorer and adventurer—talent number six. Attired in his iconic explorer outfit and trademark hat, Buddy’s greatest adventure of all might have been above the Arctic Circle of Alaska, where he searched for frozen dinosaur bones. This adventure was chronicled in his book The Great Alaskan Dinosaur Adventure. Buddy also traveled to Mt. Ararat in Turkey in search of the remains of Noah’s ark. In 2019, he went on a safari in South Africa, which was recorded and became the 2021 video Buddy Davis’ Amazing Adventures: Safari. Most of his videos can be watched on AiG’s streaming platform, Answers TV.
So, how’s that for a list of accomplishments for 30 years by this remarkable man of God, who has blessed countless millions?
Suffering from a stroke a few years ago with the complications that followed, plus a chronic illness, Buddy knew, from the teachings of Genesis 3, why we have disease, suffering, and death in this world.
Kay was his soulmate. This extremely close couple married right after Buddy’s stint in the Navy, and the union lasted 51 years. Kay was Buddy’s partner in ministry. Please pray for her and the rest of their family. (They had no children.)
AiG paid tribute to an ailing Buddy last month at the Creation Museum. He and Kay were hoping to travel to the celebration of Buddy’s life, but the travel would have been too grueling. Instead, Buddy (with Kay) appeared on Zoom as hundreds of staff and AiG supporters gathered in the museum’s Legacy Hall to interact with him on a large screen and share their tributes of how he had blessed them. It was a moving time.
Ken remembered his dear friend: “Buddy was greatly gifted by the Lord. He did all he could to use those gifts to reach as many people as possible with the gospel. He was one of my dearest friends, and he will be greatly missed by all of us here.”
Buddy Davis—exceptional speaker, singer, songwriter, author, adventurer, paleo-artist, and buddy to so many—was 75.
