Sorrento
Dr. Richard “Dick” Crouse Davis, son of Anna May Crouse and Ira Jay Davis, loving husband of 70 years to Dr. Jane Totah Davis, and dedicated father, passed away June 3, 2022 at the age of 95. He is survived by his children Ellen Stone, Chris Davis (spouse Abir), and Sarah Jane Harvey (spouse Douglas), as well as his grandchildren Louisa, Sam and Eliza. Richard’s wife, Jane, passed away on March 24, 2022, and his exceptional eldest child Jay predeceased him in May 2014.
Throughout his marriage of seven decades, he dedicated himself to his wife, family and career. But as Jane often said, Dick’s true love was sailing and sailboat racing. Nothing gave him more joy than being out on the water. His passion for sailing was born from his childhood summers spent at the Jersey shore sailing catboats on Barnegat Bay, and his love of sailing stayed with him his entire life.
Along with Jane, Richard spent sixty years caring for a severely disabled child whom he dearly loved. This care and experience led him to decades of advocacy for the disabled, their families, and caregivers. His tireless efforts resulted in tangible changes in disabled caregiving and his endless love for his son Jay led one friend to remark that when he watched Richard look at Jay with love and pride, he saw the face of God.
After graduating from Admiral Farragut Academy, Richard served his country in the U.S. Navy Reserves during WWII. He valued a rich education, and he loved his alma mater, Swarthmore College (honoring his Pennsylvania Quaker ancestral roots and where he met Jane), as well as University of Pennsylvania, where he received his Doctor of Dental Surgery. After his formal medical training, he created and built an incredibly successful and highly regarded dental practice in Westfield, N.J. His easy-going and gentle nature meant that patients of all ages immediately felt at ease. He offered unsurpassed dental care that improved the quality of life to countless families and his compassionate pro bono dental efforts offered dental care for the disabled and less fortunate in nearby clinics.
As with Jane, Dick found grace, beauty and strength in the people and places of Downeast Maine, so after his retirement from dentistry, he chose to move to Sorrento. There, Richard pursued his love of sailing and of Frenchman Bay. His decades-long support for the Sorrento Yacht Club continued to grow, lending support and encouragement to its sailing and racing programs. He loved to help others learn about sailing and he continued to race his nautical love, an Ensign class boat named Sea Fever, until his late eighties.
For those who knew him, Dick possessed an amazing sense of humor, and a dry wit that could make everyone around him laugh and forget their burdens. Affectionately called “Tigger” by his grandchildren, he could add levity to any situation. He loved to wear bow ties, which were a metaphor for his life: colorful, fun and classic. Dick was a remarkable husband, father, grandfather, and sailor who was Richard Crouse Davis. He will be missed terribly.