The Things My Father Taught Me Not to Do

70-year-old John Wesley Davis says he learned how to be a nurturing father because of what his father never said.

John Wesley Davis is the managing director and client advisor with private client services group at Deutsche Bank in Winston-Salem. He, like most fathers, appreciates there is no manual on how to raise a son. So in many families, a cycle of repetition occurs. Many sons grow up and become  fathers. Then they repeat what they learned from their fathers, healthy and unhealthy.

In the 1950's, John Davis III was a boy. That's when he and his family moved to Winston-Salem from Washington, DC. His describes his relationship with his father, John Wesley Sr., as a tangled mix of respect and pain.

Now more than 60 years later, Davis lives in Winston-Salem with his wife Terrie. He has a wonderful relationship with their two adult children, John Wesley IV and Jennie Davis Blair. In this segment of StoryLine, Davis reveals to his son, Wesley, how his father's choices led Davis to break an unhealthy cycle and evolve into what he calls, a 'better father'.

StoryLine gives voice to everyday people throughout our community as they share the experiences that shape their lives. it is a project of the ECHO Network, dedicated to building trusting relationships in our community.