Before cellphones, before 24/7 cable stations, there was classic concerned neighbor Mable Davis, who always knew what was going on and kept everyone else in the know.

"That's why we called her 'the news channel,' " said her daughter Francine Y. Smith of Ellenwood. "Anything that was happening, she'd call me to make sure I knew."

Family photo (ENLARGE)

Mable Davis followed her neighbors' comings and goings as faithfully as she watched soap operas. Rather than being seen as nosy, she is remembered for checking on the elderly, keeping the area safe and sharing important news.

Ms. Davis was the type who noticed if a school child missed the bus in the morning, and nosiness had nothing to do with it. She believed it was important to watch out for kids on her street or to check on sick neighbors.

"She talked about how things are not the way they used to be, when neighbors would help rear children and people all worked together," her daughter said. "She really wanted to get that tradition back, because everyone is in their own little world now."

The funeral for Ms. Davis is noon Wednesday at Jackson Memorial Baptist Church. Ms. Davis, 73, died of a bone marrow disorder Thursday at her Ellenwood residence. Herschel Thornton Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

After she graduated from David T. Howard High School, the Atlanta native reared her three daughters and worked as a homemaker. Once her children were older, she got a job at Piedmont Hospital's linen services division — where she folded sheets and loaded laundry carts — and stayed there for 26 years.

Her greatest pleasure, though, was in being a homebody, her daughter said.

She loved to watch Atlanta Braves games and "Deal or No Deal" on TV. Every afternoon, she'd plant herself on the sofa and catch up with her favorite soap operas — "All My Children," "One Life to Live" and "General Hospital" — one after the other.

As closely as she followed her stories, she followed the comings and goings of her neighbors — first in the Adamsville neighborhood of southwest Atlanta, then on a cul de sac in Ellenwood where she moved 10 years ago.

Ms. Davis checked on her elderly friends, kept an extra set of house keys for her neighbors and noticed if something didn't look right. As soon as she spotted something fishy, she was on the phone. "It was like having your own personal neighborhood watch," her daughter said. "She would just be aware of what was going on and knew if something was suspicious."

Sylvia Cox-Shy said when she settled in Ellenwood in 1998, she was relieved to have Ms. Davis for a neighbor.

"I was new in the subdivision, and I was scared and didn't know anybody," Mrs. Cox-Shy said. "I can't put into words how appreciative I was of what she did for me."

It was Ms. Davis' small acts of concern that defined her life, her daughter said. She was the one who rescued the boy who was constantly locking himself out of his house. She was the one who left presents every Christmas for the mail lady and sanitation workers.

"It's a real friendly cul de sac here, and my mom helped make us all feel like one big family," her daughter said. "That was just her nature. Her life was all about respecting people and treating everyone with kindness."

Survivors include two other daughters, Angela P. Ray of Douglasville and Wanda E. Brown of Decatur; her mother, Amanda L. Moore, of Ellenwood; two brothers, James P. Moore Jr. of Decatur, and Paul W. Moore of Atlanta; a grandson; and three great-grandchildren.