Owen R. Davison
Owen R. Davison, 90, a resident of Country Meadows in Hershey, died on April 11, 2005.
He was the husband of Viola Short Davison, and of Jean C. Davison, who died in 1998.
Born in Bethel, Ohio, he was the son of Owen C. and Marie R. Davison. He graduated from DePauw University in 1937 and received his master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati a year later. His interest in social work dictated his career path as he worked for the juvenile court system in Cincinnati, the Community Chests of Kansas City, MO, Evanston, IL, and Montclair, NJ, and then served as the executive director of the United Fund and later the Health and Welfare Council of Philadelphia. He ended his career in social work as an Associate Executive Director of the United Way of Pennsylvania.
After retiring, Mr. Davison served as a volunteer international management consultant under the auspices of the International Retired Executive Service Corps on economic development projects in Brazil, Indonesia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Jamaica.
He was a founder and officer of the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States. This came about after the death of his eldest son, Richard Davison, in 1978, from this heretofore unknown condition.
Mr. Davison was active in his local church and was a founder and former board chairman of St. Matthew’s Methodist Church of Valley Forge. More recently he was an elder of the Derry Presbyterian Church in Hershey.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son Douglas Davison and his wife, Barbara of Elverson; his daughter, Rev. Susan Archer of Silver Spring, MD; and his seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
A celebration of his life and memorial service was held at the Derry Presbyterian Church of Hershey at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 17th with a reception following.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions were requested to be made to the Memorial Fund or the Outreach Programs of the Derry Presbyterian Church, 243 East Derry Road, Hershey, PA 17033 or to a charity of choice.
