Marie Diane "Granny" Davidson

DAVIDSON, Marie Diane
''Granny''
Was a local teacher, actress, writer and publisher. She retired from teaching in 1984 after having served for 30 years at El Camino Fundamental High School. Her background included an A.B. from the University of California at Berkeley, 1943, Phi Beta Kappa; a General Secondary Teaching Credential from Berkeley in 1944; and an M.A. in Playwriting from California State University, Sacramento. Memberships included Actors Equity, the Authors Guild, the California Writers Club, Sacramento, PEN, and the California Teachers Association. She was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church of Folsom for 40 years; there she was a lay reader, choir member, and church historian. Her historical novel "Feversham" was published by Crown Books in 1969. In 1979 she founded Swan Books, self-publishing 18 easy-to-read Shakespeare plays without changing the words. In 1999 it was sold to Learning Links. A new novel about the pastoral period of California before the Gold Rush, co-written with Dr. Josephine Van Ess and entitled "Pablo's Gold: A Tale of Early California" was published by Wheatmark in 2007. A descendant of Gold Rush pioneers, Ms. Davidson, known to many as "Granny," was born in Los Angeles in 1924 and died on July 7, 2007, in Gold River, Calif. She is survived by two sons, both teachers, and their families: David of Sacramento, his wife Alexis, their son James and their daughter Elizabeth; her son Ronald of Fairfield, Conn., his wife Katherine, and his daughter Stephanie. "A special, wonderful family!" Ms. Davidson called them.

A memorial service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church, 803 Figueroa St., Folsom, Calif., on Saturday, July 14, at 1:00 PM. No flowers, please. Memorial contributions in her memory can be sent to the Lupus Foundation of America, Northern California Chapter, 2775 Cottage Way, Suite 5, Sacramento, CA 95825.