Search by Name

Search by Name

Philip H. Davidson III

1939 - 2019

Philip H. Davidson III obituary, 1939-2019, Dallas, TX

Philip Davidson Obituary

Native Texan Philip H. Davidson III (79) of Coppell, TX, son of Philip H. Davidson II and ""Edgar"" Elizabeth Parten Davidson, passed away August 23, 2019 in Fort Worth.


Phil is survived by his wife Barbara, sons Philip IV & Christopher, granddaughters Kali Marie & Carmandee Sue, sister & brother-in-law Pris Davidson Richards, husband John, niece Kim Richards Shapiro (husband Seth) and their four children, Sterling, Darby, Sadie, & Willette Irene. Phil was preceded in death by his parents. Phil's father (who was listed in three different Who's Who publications) was a school superintendent in San Angelo's Lakeview district & Morenci, AZ. His mother taught high school speech & English at Lakeview, directed plays there as well as in AZ where she also taught fifth grade & then junior high reading.


In 1948 Phil's asthma caused his family to move to Morenci, AZ. Phil's father learned from a relative who had moved to Morenci several years earlier that the climate in eastern AZ might just ""fit the bill"" for son Philip III. That it did. After the move to Morenci, Philip III never had another asthma attack!


A very active high school student, Phil served four years on Morenci's yearbook staff and was co-editor his senior year. The previous year, he was elected to Quill & Scroll. Phil was also active in dramatics club, served on the student council his senior year, lettered in tennis, and was a delegate to AZ's Boys' State in 1957. Here Phil received the most votes for senator from any of the counties at Boys' State and was also named President-Pro Tem of the Senate. Phil was also an honor roll member & Junior Rotarian. Outside the classroom Phil was also very actively involved. During his senior year, he was moderator of his church youth group, Phi Tau. That year, he was elected Master Councilor of his DeMolay chapter.


Phil graduated from the University of AZ. There he served in the University's Student Activity Association, was treasurer of the University's Society for the Advancement of Management chapter and held many offices for the AZ Alpha chapter of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. Immediately after graduation, Phil served in the U. S. Air Force Reserve. After eight weeks of basic training at Lackland AFB, TX, Phil was assigned to Detachment 8, 12th Mobile Communication Squadron @ Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ.


After completing his active military duty, Phil moved to Cleveland, OH, in March, 1964, where he was employed by his college fraternity's headquarters for four and one-half years. After serving as a consultant for two years, where he visited nearly 100 campuses, he was promoted to Asst to the Executive Secretary and then Financial Coordinator. While on the Phi Kappa Psi staff, Phil conducted Chapter Fraternity Finance Educational Leadership Conferences at Northwestern & Indiana Universities. Because he had been a Cleveland Indians fan since he was nine when his father would take him to Tucson for the exhibition games each spring, Phil was pleased to watch his baseball team play live, regular season games. It was during this time that he also became a Browns fan. For those who knew Phil best, his allegiance to the Indians was always stronger than to the Browns.


In Oct, 1968, Phil accepted a Staff Trainee assignment with Western Electric's Cable Manufacturing Works in Phoenix. In Phoenix Phil commenced and spent the majority of his 30+ year career with the Bell System. While supervising most of the factory's jobs, Phil remained very active with Phi Kappa Psi. He conducted additional seminars on Chapter Finance @ Northwestern University and in New Orleans. During Phil's first year back in AZ, he was elected president of Phi Kappa Psi's AZ Beta House Corporation and Phi Psi's AZ alumni association. At the end of his term he was awarded the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the AZ Beta chapter at AZ State University. Next, he was appointed Phi Psi's assistant director of chapter finance & then director of chapter finance. During Phi Psi's 1974 convention in New Orleans, he was elected National Secretary of the fraternity. Maintaining an active role both locally and nationally in the fraternity, Phil also served as Area Alumni Director for the state of AZ, national Historian, and video Historian. In 1984, having attended seven national conventions, Phil was elected to Phi Kappa Psi's Order of the S. C. Phil was also a member of the fraternity's Sesquicentennial Committee, and in 2002 authored four biennia (1960-68) for the third volume of The History of Phi Kappa Psi; he also narrated the video interviews at the two conventions immediately prior to Phi Psi's Sesquicentennial. Phil also served on the Phi Psi house corporations for SMU & the U of AZ.


During his career with the Bell System, Phil served as one of Western Electric's (WE) Junior Achievement sponsors in the early '80s. Earlier, Phil was WE's loaned executive to Gompers Rehabilitation. While with the Bell System (then AT&T) in 1987, Phil was chosen to become a member of the Copper Cable's new sales staff-his first assignment was in Tampa, FL, where he successfully bested sales quotas to GTE (later Verizon). Since he exceeded his quota in one-half the allotted time, Phil was invited to train cable products sales staff in Greensboro, NC's sales office. Shortly after his return to Phoenix, Phil was chosen to manage AT&T's new copper cable and wire customer support team for GTE. Phil always remarked that this was a definite highlight of his Bell System career, as he was fortunate to have chosen ten excellent management members and fine administrative support personnel. For their performance, GTE consistently praised the efforts of Phil and his team. Phil was selected one of AT&T's Silver Award winner. After serving GTE well, Phil's team gained additional copper cable customers.


In early 1992, Phil's phone rang, and he was ""asked"" if he would like to move to Dallas. While the native Texan, now a very happy Arizonan, had never planned to return to TX, the invitation to move to TX didn't catch him totally by surprise, as Phil had seen both his AT&T and GTE colleagues being transferred to TX. Phil said yes, and once again became a Texan. In Irving, Phil was AT&T's customer service manager for GTE's transmission and switching operations. Phil often remarked how he was pleased to have made friends with some of the GTE customers-some of the friendships even continued into retirement. In 1995, Phil served as a member of AT&T's Network System's Contingency Plan. In 1996, Phil's organization became Lucent Technologies, and with the name change, Phil also changed assignments. Early that year Phil was named Lucent's Manager Community Resources, Southwest Chapter. Phil's responsibility was to serve a portion of the well-known Telephone Pioneers of America's community service team. Phil's six-state region reached from KS to LA and encompassed over 19,000 retired and active employees who performed community service projects.

During Phil's two years as manager, the SW chapter membership contributed over 800,000 hours of community service! Phil's final responsibility w/the Bell System followed his Pioneer manager assignment, when he was named Pioneer Publication Manager for Lucent. During this time, Phil authored a Leadership Guide for the Pioneer officers.


In early 1999, Phil retired. In no way did retirement slow Phil down. Although he had been exercising for six years, in 1999 he became an exercise enthusiast working out two hours a day, six days a week. A member of Coppell's Republican Club, Phil served as treasurer in 2004. A longtime Presbyterian, he was active w/Hackberry Creek Church (HCC) where he was the team leader for their local caring missions. Phil is also a past co-editor of HCC's monthly newsletter. He and wife Barbara served on HCC's offering counting team for several years. In Tempe, AZ, Phil served as the Deacons' treasurer at University Presbyterian Church. He maintained an active interest in the U of AZ as an associate of their Eller College of Business & Public Administration. He has also served as a U of AZ spokesman for College Nights in the Metroplex. Phil & Barbara are members of the U of AZ's Presidents Club and in 1982, the Davidson family established a scholarship at the U of A in memory of his parents.


Phil, Barbara, and his sister Pris Richards endowed a scholarship at the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor to honor their late aunt, Mary Ailese Parten, long-time PR Director and journalism professor at UMHB & Wayland Baptist. Phil received his 50-year Masonic Lodge membership pin in 2015. Phil and Barbara enjoyed traveling during his retirement.


If you wish, memorial contributions may be made to UAF/Davidson Memorial Scholarship, University of Arizona Foundation, Attn: Gift Planning, 1111 N. Cherry Av., Tucson, AZ 85721-0109; or to Hackberry Creek Church's local caring missions fund @ 2000 Kinwest Parkway, Irving, TX, 75063, or online to Phi Kappa Psi Foundation at www.PKPFoundation.org.

Published by Dallas Morning News on Sep. 8, 2019.
34465541-95D0-45B0-BEEB-B9E0361A315A

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Memories and Condolences
for Philip Davidson

Sponsored by The Dallas Morning News.

Not sure what to say?





1 Entry

I first met Mr. & Mrs. Davidson when I supervised the Weight Room at the Coppell Aquatics & Recreation Center MANY years ago. Their interest in the success and care for the new facility matched mine which made us instant partners in the well being of all who visited the then CARC and future CORE. Very quickly that mutual respect and consideration easily created a warm friendship between us. One that I deeply cherish to this day and missed when I left to relocate to the City's Town Center HR office. Fortunately, they were ones to pay their water bill in person which gave us periodic opportunities for a hug and conversation. I love them and news of his passing literally makes my heart hurt. I will always be here for you Mrs. Davidson. Keeping you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

Laurie Alcaraz

September 26, 2019

Showing 1 - 1 of 1 results

Make a Donation
in Philip Davidson's name

Memorial Events
for Philip Davidson

To offer your sympathy during this difficult time, you can now have memorial trees planted in a National Forest in memory of your loved one.

How to support Philip's loved ones
Commemorate a cherished Veteran with a special tribute of Taps at the National WWI Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The nightly ceremony in Washington, D.C. will be dedicated in honor of your loved one on the day of your choosing.

Read more
Attending a Funeral: What to Know

You have funeral questions, we have answers.

Read more
Should I Send Sympathy Flowers?

What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative?

Read more
What Should I Write in a Sympathy Card?

We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time.

Read more
Resources to help you cope with loss
How to Write an Obituary

Need help writing an obituary? Here's a step-by-step guide...

Read more
Estate Settlement Guide

If you’re in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist.

Read more
Obituaries, grief & privacy: Legacy’s news editor on NPR podcast

Legacy's Linnea Crowther discusses how families talk about causes of death in the obituaries they write.

Read more
The Five Stages of Grief

They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel.

Read more
Ways to honor Philip Davidson's life and legacy
How to Write an Obituary

Need help writing an obituary? Here's a step-by-step guide...

Read more
Obituary Templates

These free blank templates make writing an obituary faster and easier.

Read more
Obituary Examples

You may find these well-written obituary examples helpful as you write about your own family.

Read more
How Do I Write a Eulogy?

Some basic help and starters when you have to write a tribute to someone you love.

Read more