Sarah, Alan and StephanieA dear family friend, Alan Davidson passed away on August 2nd.
Stephanie and Alan were such a neat couple. I remember the first time my family met Alan, it was at Ted's Baptism. Yes, as many of you know Ted is the family dog and yes, we had a special baptism for him. Stephanie introduced Alan to all of us, and I am sure he thought we were a bunch of nuts but he fit in perfect. We saw the happiness he brought to Stephanie's life.
Stephanie and Alan hosted my bridal luncheon for all my bridesmaids. Alan was a fantastic chef.
Alan was very active in his home town of Whittier, California. Here is a nice article that was written about him.
Whittier Daily News: Alan Charles Davidson, a soft-spoken philanthropist, national award-winning businessman and motivational speaker who loved to cruise the world and cook gourmet food, died last Saturday in Jackson, Miss. He was 70. His wife of eight years, Stephanie Davidson, a literary coach at the Whittier City School District, said she is from Jackson and many of her family and friends live there. She said they had also bought a home there for their retirement.
She said at 1 p.m. on June 29, just 24 hours after arriving in Jackson for a five-day visit, Davidson was ringing the doorbell at a house where they were invited. A trio inside was playing music. Suddenly, Davidson fell and broke his hip.
That led to five weeks of hospitalization with progressively more serious developments, including a staph infection, which progressed to pneumonia and finally took his life 34 days later.
Davidson, small of stature and weighing only 115 pounds due to an inability to put on weight after an operation for esophageal cancer in 1999, was unable to fight back, Stephanie said.
Davidson's first wife, Gail Ziebarth Davidson, died in 1994 of an aortic aneurysm. Alan's cancer was diagnosed after Gail's death. Davidson heaped praise on Stephanie for nursing him through his bout with cancer.
"He called me Nurse Ratched," Stephanie said.
Although he never regained his earlier weight, Davidson managed to restore his local social life and business affairs in recent years. Through it all, Davidson maintained his droll sense of humor and good-natured demeanor.
Bruce Martin, former executive director of Pico Rivera and Whittier chambers of commerce and now an Orange County official, said: "Alan was a dear friend. I've known him since our Whittier College days."
He said Davidson loved the ambience of the exclusive downtown Los Angeles California Club, where he was a member and "took Sally and I to eat many times."
"He loved cruising," said Martin. "He went on 44 cruises, many of them at Christmastime. He wanted to make 50, but didn't quite make it."
As a proud gourmet chef, years ago, he entered his recipes in an annual local charity event called Celebrity Chefs.
On his humorous mischievous side, he "crashed" a little-known but exclusive Whittier group that goes by two names - The Lincoln Club or the President's Club. Its members include Ed and Ruth B. Shannon, Rudy Cervantes, and Bruce Martin. Two years ago, Davidson "crashed" the club's annual luncheon meeting. He told the members he planned to crash the luncheon every year. The group liked him because he rarely spoke. So, he was inducted.
At the last meeting on St. Patrick's Day, hosted by the Shannons, Davidson announced that he would host the whole group at the California Club in 2009.
"Whittier will remember him well," said Ruth B. Shannon. "He has been a very good citizen of this city ... I know he has been quite philanthropic."
Davidson was president and owner of the Davidson Company, an insurance and investment firm in Uptown Whittier. He earned his B.A. in economics and business administration at Whittier College. In recent years, he has been a sought-after motivational speaker.
He has a long list of honors for his business achievements, a few of which he was most proud: Outstanding Young Men of America - 1972, recipient of the Will G. Farrell Public Service Award, 1995 by the Life Underwriters Association; Life and Qualifying Member of the Million Dollar Round Table, National Sales Achievement Award and two-time trustee of that organization.
Locally he was chief financial officer for Oralingua School, past president of Whittier Toastmasters, producer and host of "Financial Sense," a local public access television show, and on the board of the Rio Hondo Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Besides his wife, Davidson is survived by his daughter Karen Davidson and her daughter, Victoria Snyder of Dallas; his son, Douglas Davidson, and wife, Natasha, and their son, Apollo of Burlington Vt.; stepson Andy Beauchamp and wife Sharon Garner of Houston; stepdaughter, Sarah Beauchamp of Durham, N.C.; brother James and his wife Sheila of Santa Barbara.
Davidson was cremated and a private family service was held at Rose Hills Memorial Park. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Peters Episcopal Church, 1648 W. 9th St., San Pedro.
Formerly a Quaker, Davidson became an Episcopalian when he and Stephanie were wed. She said he had become very active in the church.
Donations can be made to the Million Dollar Round Table Foundation, 325 W. Touhy Ave., Park Ridge, Ill. 60068, or St. Peter's Episcopal Church at the address above.
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/ci_10133681
