Excerpts below ...
Thank you very much for the notice and the picture of Dick. It was very kind of you to write.
I had heard Dick had died. A friend of mine (Ken, cc'd above) mentioned it - though I don't recall how Ken knew! I was able to find the notice on the net. I should have written then of course but I did not have your contact information.
I think of Dick very often. He was a major influence when I was a young student at Caltech. I met him because a friend was renting a room at Dick's home, that would be shortly after your mother died.
I wish I'd been a better correspondent and that I'd thought more about establishing contact with you and Rocky as he aged. I can't believe he was 70 when he attended my wedding -- I never had a very good idea of Dick's age. I was very young.
I remember that when I was in medical school he traveled to Thailand, and visited some people I'd met there when I was a Watson Fellow.
It is all so very long ago; it feels like a part of a someone else's life...
... Two are of Dick at my wedding. One is of my wife Emily and I, so you can see that the guy with the weird glasses speaking with Dick is me.
One is of Dick's wedding gift from today. If you want people to remember you, give them everyday China. I've thought of Dick about every day for 22 years! We were amazed when he appeared at our wedding, and his gift was exceedingly generous. Much of the China remains, save that we are down to the very last bowl.
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Hi John,
Came across your Christmas card today with a picture of your family - signed with your web site address which led to your email.
Last September my father passed away peacefully.
Attached is a photo and a copy of the "notice" as he didn't want an obituary.
He kept your cards and enjoyed your friendship over the years.
All the best to you and yours,
Barbara
Barbara Davis Reynolds
883 So. Magnolia #2
Pasadena, CA 91106
626 449-0620
bwdr@pacbell.net
Richard Lowe Davis, 91, passed away at Huntington Hospital, Pasadena, on September 6, 2007. At the age of 83, he wrote:
WHEN THE INEVITABLE OCCURS –
REMEMBER THAT I DO NOT WANT ANY FUNERAL.
JUST A FRIENDLY CREMATION AND DISPOSITION.
NO BIG ANNOUNCEMENT. THE PUBLIC DOESN'T CARE.
A NICE COMMENT (NOT AN OBIT) MIGHT SAY SOMETHING LIKE –
DICK DAVIS IS GONE.
NOT MISSING. NOT 'ROUND THE BEND. JUST GONE.
HE HOPES THAT ANYONE WHO REMEMBERS HIM DOES SO WITH A SMILE.
IF YOU CAN SMILE – DICK DAVIS LIVES ON.
FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T REMEMBER HIM –
HE HOPES THEY WILL SMILE, TOO.
A SMILE CAN KEEP THE FUN IN LIFE.
HE HOPES HE LEAVES THE WORLD NO WORSE THAN HE FOUND IT.
MAYBE A LITTLE BETTER.
Dick is survived by his son Byron (Rocky) Davis and daughter-in-law Deborah, his daughter Barbara Davis Reynolds and son-in-law Brad, and grandchildren Claire Kathryn and Nyle Libberton Davis. His beloved wife Ann, a prominent Pasadena Realtor and community supporter, died in 1978. His family and many friends loved him madly and will miss him greatly.
If desired, gifts may be made to:
Five Acres: The Boys' and Girls' Aid Society of Los Angeles County, 760 W. Mountain View, Altadena CA 91001 – in memory of Ann and Dick Davis
Armory Center for the Arts (formerly Pasadena Art Workshops): 145 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, CA 91103 – in memory of Ann and Dick Davis
Stanford University: Alumni Center, 326 Galvez St., Stanford, CA 94305 – Richard Lowe Davis, Class of '37