Frederick Davis Poisson, Sr. was born on September 11, 1926, in Wilmington, North Carolina, to Louis Julien Poisson and Gethyn Rugan Poisson.  He was raised in Wilmington, North Carolina, where his family attended Saint James Episcopal Church.   He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating in 1947.  He received an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1950. 

Mr. Poisson married his wife, Marilyn Garver Poisson, on August 5, 1950 in New York.  After returning to North Carolina, Mr. and Mrs. Poisson resided in Wilmington, Raleigh, Greensboro, Asheville and most recently, Wadesboro.  Mr. Poisson graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law in 1966 and worked in private practice in Asheville for a number of years.  He later worked as Associate General Counsel for Carolina Power & Light in Raleigh until he retired from that job in 1986.  At that time, Mr. and Mrs. Poisson moved to Wadesboro, and Mr. Poisson began practicing law with his son, Frederick Davis Poisson, Jr., under the firm name of Poisson & Poisson, Attorneys at Law, now Poisson, Poisson & Bower, PLLC.  His granddaughter, Elizabeth Stewart Poisson, joined the firm in 2004, and the three generations of attorneys practiced law together for almost four years. 

Mr. Poisson practiced law in Wadesboro for over twenty years.  He was the past president of the Anson County Bar, and he served as State Bar Councilor for Judicial District 20 from 1997 through 2005.  He attended Calvary Episcopal Church in Wadesboro and served on and chaired numerous church, community, business and legal boards over the course of his life.