Contact: Bill Wagnon
Luke and Ruth Davis
A retired business executive and his wife are establishing a charitable remainder annuity trust at Mississippi State that will provide a significant future boost to the university's general scholarship fund.
Luke and Ruth Davis of Germantown, Tenn., established the $527,000 trust with their daughter as the income beneficiary. A Kemper County native, Luke Davis is a 1941 MSU dairy science graduate and retired executive vice president of Kraft Foods. His wife is a Blue Mountain native.
Linda Davis Bryant, also of Germantown, will receive income from the trust until the funds are transferred to MSU to establish the Ruth and Luke Davis Scholarship Fund.
"A charitable remainder annuity trust is a planned gift that allows the donor to receive income for life, or designate a loved one as the income beneficiary for life, while the donor receives a substantial income tax break," said Richard Armstrong, MSU director of planned giving.
"This is a unique way for alumni and friends to support Mississippi State, and we are extremely grateful to Ruth and Luke Davis for their generous gift," he added.
Though Luke Davis began his career in North Carolina shortly after graduation, he soon moved back to Mississippi as manager of Kraft's cheese production factory in Walnut.
Following four years of military service, he was made supervisor of all Kraft cheese plants in Mississippi, Alabama and North Carolina. He later was named quality control manager for the company's Southeast division.
Davis continued to be promoted. After serving as production manager of the Central, Western, and Southern divisions, he moved to company headquarters near Chicago as general production manager for all Kraft manufacturing facilities. After holding the offices of vice president and senior vice president for production, he was sent to Memphis, Tenn., as president and chief executive officer of Humco, Kraft's vegetable oil refining and sales division.
He completed his career as executive vice president in charge of operations. Since retiring, he has been involved in a cattle and farming operation.