CHARLES DAVENPORT

DAVENPORT CHARLES DAVENPORT Charles Davenport, a presence in Washington's tax-policy circles for nearly 50 years, died at home in Arlington, Virginia, on April 15, 2015 - Tax Day - of pancreatic cancer. He was 82 years old. Davenport was born on a farm in northwestern Missouri in 1933, and in 1945 moved to Yuba City, California, where he picked peaches and worked in a cannery. A high-school teacher encouraged him to apply to Chico State College. His achievements there earned a scholarship at Harvard Law School, from which he graduated cum laude in 1957. He then was drafted and served two years at the Presidio in San Francisco, then home to the Sixth Army, earning distinction as a marksman. He moved to Washington in 1967 to join Treasury's Office of Tax Legislative Counsel. Later, he was a professor of tax law at the University of California-Davis. He also led a large government study of the IRS that laid the seed for the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate. He then helped stand up the Congressional Budget Office and was its first assistant director for tax analysis. He returned to academia in 1979 as a professor of law at Rutgers University, where he remained for 28 years, and wrote tax-policy articles and five books. In 1985, he also became associated with Tax Analysts, a nonprofit publishing company, where he served in various roles, including editor in chief and chief editorial officer. Following his 2008 retirement, Davenport began a serious study of the social and economic effects of wealth concentration in the United States, and wrote extensively about the public-policy outcomes of various tax regimes. Davenport was a mentor to many and admired for his wit, empathy, generosity, and for his deep commitment to social justice. He loved opera, the symphony, and plays, traveled well-armed with historical research, read several newspapers and the New Yorker religiously, anticipated family gatherings, exercised regularly, and loved ice cream. He greatly loved and was proud of his children, yet took no credit for them or their achievements. His grandchildren were a delight of his life. He is survived by his wife, Gail Davenport; his sons, Lane (Amy); Forrest (Denise); Todd (Abigail); his daughter, Gwen Fenton (David); and five grandchildren. His funeral will be at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, at the Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes, 1217 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005, with a reception following at the church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes. His funeral will be at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, at the Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes, 1217 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005, with a reception following at the church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes.