Wichita restaurant family devastated by death of son, operations manager
Joe Davidson was the operations manager for both of his parents’ Wichita Jimmie’s Diner restaurants — at 3111 N. Rock Road and at 1519 George Washington Drive — and he was good at his job, said his mother, Linda Davidson.
Following Joe’s death, which resulted from a rollover crash late Friday night that also killed Wichitan Joshua Blick and injured another person, Linda and her husband, Jack, aren’t sure how they’ll ever replace him.
They’re devastated, Linda said, and so are the restaurants’ staff members, who are rallying around the Davidson family. So are longtime customers, who Linda said have been filling social media with words of comfort and support.
Joe, who his family and friends called “Joey,” was a well-known presence in the two Jimmie’s Diner restaurants. Customers appreciated his warm, smiling demeanor, and his employees appreciated the way he ran the businesses, Linda said.
“His dad always bragged about Joey and his management style,” she said. “He was just a natural at it . . . to be able to train and teach and guide people and manage them and hold them accountable, but at the end of the day, slap them on the back and say, ‘Good job. Let’s go forward.’”
Joe, who was 46, attended Blessed Sacrament Catholic School then Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School, graduating in 1997. After, he worked many different jobs at places like Ultra Modern Pool & Patio and Lodging Enterprises.
But 17 years ago, he told his parents that he was interested in following them into the restaurant business. Jack Davidson was a onetime Pizza Hut franchisee, and in 2007, he and Linda bought Jimmie’s Diner at 3111 N. Rock Road and Kings-X Restaurant at 2014 W. 21st St. (The latter was torn down in 2012 to make way for a CVS.) Also in 2012, the Davidsons added a second Jimmie’s Diner in the old Toc’s Coffeehouse space at Harry and George Washington.
Joe started out as a bus boy at the Kings-X diner, Linda said, then worked his way up to dishwasher, then cook, then assistant manager. He was promoted to operations manager around 12 years ago, she said.
He was especially passionate, Linda said, about the annual Hotcakes for Hopecare breakfast, a fundraiser for GraceMed that happened at the diner on Rock Road. When GraceMed approached the Davidsons nine years ago about starting the buffet breakfast, Joe was the one most in favor of it, Linda said.
“Joey just piped up right away, and he said, ‘Hey, this is a no-brainer,’” Linda remembered. “He said, ‘This could help our employees and so many more people.’ And from then on, each year he tried to make it better.”
Joe wasn’t married and didn’t have children, but he was always “fun uncle Joey” to his teenage niece and nephew, Hailey and Jacob, said Carrie Garon, Joe’s older sister.
Carrie described her brother as having a helpful spirit. He was skilled at working on cars and was always more than happy to help friends and family with their car troubles.
“He would say, ‘Don’t take it to the shop. I’ll come over and do that,’” Garon said.
Joe was also a Kansas City Chiefs fan who had season tickets and was a member of the “Gate Five Squad,” members of which would line up at Arrowhead Stadium with their bus and sleep overnight to get their preferred tailgating spot. The next morning, Joe — a skilled cook — would always prepare breakfast for the crew on his flat top grill
Joe also loved motorcycle and dirt bike riding as well as boating. “Anything outdoors,” his mother said. He was also skilled at smoking meats.
Linda said that the family had a wonderful Christmas together this year and observed their tradition of spending Christmas Day at Carrie’s house in their pajamas. They feasted on a prime rib that Joe had smoked.
“We spent the entire day together,” Linda said.
Joe Davidson is survived by his parents, Jack and Linda; his sister, Carrie Garon, and her husband, David; his niece, Hailey; and nephew, Jacob; and many cousins.
A celebration of life will be held on Thursday at Cozine Life Events Center, 11500 E. 21st St., and the family will receive visitors from 3 to 5 p.m.
On Friday, the family will receive visitors from 9 to 10 a.m. at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 124 N. Roosevelt. Following will be a 10:30 a.m. rosary and an 11 a.m. Mass.
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