Patricia Davis Obituary

Patricia Shaw Davis, 95, passed from this life on February 13, 2026 at the Woodlawn Care Center in Newport, NH.

Born in Clinton, Maine on May 9, 1930-delivered by her grandfather, Dr. Arthur Asbra Shaw-she was the daughter of Judge Kenneth E. Shaw and Alice Rowden Shaw.

Her father was a young attorney in Newport, and she spent her youth in town, graduating from Towle High School in 1948. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire with the Class of 1952, where she was a member of the Chi Omega sorority.

An excellent student, she continued her studies at Lesley College, earning a Masters in early childhood education. She entered the job market, teaching in Duxbury, MA and Hanover, NH.

In 1958 she married Robert H. Davis, who predeceased her. They settled first in Chestnut Hill, MA. Following the birth of their son Robert Jr. in 1961, they moved to Weston, MA, where she was active in the Methodist Church choir. A gifted cook and entertainer, Pat hosted scores of visitors to their summer home, Driftwood, on Lake Sunapee, where they enjoyed cocktails on the 70-foot-long porch overlooking the lake.

In 1980, she and her husband moved to Granliden on Sunapee, and then to the former Dexter Richards house on Summit Road in Newport, marking a full circle back home.

In Newport, in addition to caring for her husband, she served as a Trustee of the Richards Free Library and as President of the Garden Club. She ultimately provided care to her mother, and friends Eileen Mahoney and Ines Ferriter during their periods of convalescence. She also proved to be an adept investor and restored her family's finances after her husband's long illness and death in 1990.

She is survived by her son, Robert, daughter-in-law Alice Yurke, and grandchildren John, his wife Lauren, and Katherine; sister Joan Waldron; nephew Howard G. Davis III; niece Susan Scarborough; niece Kimberly (Waldron) Levy, her husband Jonathan, and daughter Mackenzie and numerous cousins.

Patricia was a warm, deeply caring person, with a quick wit and unquenchable sense of hope. She was a loving and attentive mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother. John and Katya have fond memories of family meals, chocolate chip cookies, and a seemingly endless supply of "Hoodsies" from Granna's freezer, as well as her stories about the grandfather they never knew, and tales of their dad's youth.

She was always there for her family, ensuring her son got a first-class education--expense be damned--and providing a warm, welcoming home and sympathetic ear to friends and family alike. She had high ethical standards, treating every person with dignity and respect, and while she wasn't a regular churchgoer, she was deeply spiritual in a quiet way.

A passage read at her father's funeral, in 1971, paraphrased here, could apply equally to her own life:

And if each person to whom she had done some act of kindness, or spoken some word of hope, or cheered with a smile, had brought a blossom to her grave, the grave would have been covered with a wealth of flowers.

Patricia believed deeply in the importance of education, and the advancement of knowledge. Donations in her memory may be made to the Richards Free Library, 58 Main Street, Newport, NH 03773 https://richardsfreelib.org/donations/.