Obituary of Anne Courtenay Davidson, 38, of Alexandria, Virginia, died Friday, Sept. 8, 1989

OBITUARY - Published on Monday, September 11, 1989 in The Oak Ridger, Oak Ridge, Tennessee  

ANNE COURTENAY DAVIDSON, Formerly of Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Anne Courtenay Davidson, 38, of Alexandria, VA, died of cancer Friday, Sept. 8, at her home.

She was the daughter of Jackson B. and Mary Ann Davidson of 117 Orange Lane, who are both on the staff of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, he as a development staff engineer and she as an information analyst.

A native of Oak Ridge, Ms. Davidson had lived in the Washington, D.C., area since 1973.  At the time of her death she was vice president of the Foundation Endowment in Alexandria, where she directed conferences held in Windsor, England, the United States and other countries for influential Americans to discuss with British leaders, aristocracy, and members of Parliament[,] governmental problems such as education, defense, energy, space, welfare and judicial reforms, her family said.

Conferences in England were held semi-annually at St. George’s House on the grounds of Windsor Castle, with receptions at the home of the Duke of Wellington, who headed the British arm of the foundation.

Ms. Davidson had previously worked in Washington for the Mexican Embassy and the Bank of Mexico and for several cultural and artistic exchange programs under grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Among symposiums in which she participated were “Mexico Today” with Meridian House, and “Japan Today” with the Japan-America Society.

A graduate of the University of the Americas in Puebla, Mexico, she also attended Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Ga., and studied a Schiller College in Paris, France.  She was fluent in Spanish and French and her translation of a Mexican diplomat’s short story was published in the American’s Magazine, the journal of the Organization of American States. She also translated from Spanish to French the official document opening diplomatic relations between Mexico and Chad, her family said.

Ms. Davidson attended Cedar Hill Elementary School and Jefferson Junior High School and graduated in 1969 from Oak Ridge High School, where she was a National Merit Finalist.  She spent two summers in Mexico with a high school group led by Ernest Cosson.

An avid lover of music, Ms. Davidson studied piano in Oak Ridge with Ruth Fisher, Effie Carlson and Sarah Hayes and had attended the Sewanee Summer Music Center at the University of the South.   As a high school student she served as piano accompanist to a ballet troupe led by Joan Kuntsch.

Ms. Davidson was interested in art, art history, and interior design. She collected dollhouse miniatures and enjoyed reading, travel, swimming and snorkeling.  She loved flowers, and above all, her many friends, her family said.

In addition to her parents, she is survived by a sister, Adele E. Davidson of Gambler, Ohio, who teaches English at Kenyon College, a brother, William C. [Courtenay] Davidson, recently of Ferndale, Wash; her grandmother, Mrs. William H. Courtenay of Louisville, Ky.; and by several uncles in Kentucky, Georgia, and Virginia.

A memorial service will be held at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, [1989], at First Presbyterian Church with the Rev. David Horne officiating.

Private graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Oak Ridge Memorial Park.

The family requests that any memorials be in the form of gifts to the American Cancer Society of Anderson County, in care of Lee Costanzo, 103 Case Lane, Oak Ridge, Tenn. 37830, or to the Holiday Bureau, P.O. Box 220, Oak Ridge, Tenn., 37830.

Martin Oak Ridge Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.