EDITH DAVIS

DAVIS--Edith. Edith Kunhardt Davis, noted children's book author and illustrator, died peacefully on January 2nd in New York City with family at her side. She was 82. Edith was the youngest child of Philip B. and Dorothy Meserve Kunhardt, and was the inspiration for her mother's 1940 classic, Pat the Bunny. An author in her own right, Edith wrote more than 70 children's books, among them Pat the Cat and Pat the Christmas Bunny. Edith was a graduate of Miss Porter's School and Bryn Mawr College. She was married to Edward S. Davis for 12 years. They had two children, Martha K. Davis, also a writer, of California, and Edward S. Davis, Jr., who was 27 when he died in 1990 of a congenital heart defect. Edith was a lifelong photographer. She spent summers in Bridgehampton and later Sag Harbor on Long Island. Her interest in archaeology took her throughout the world to research topics for her children's books. She suffered from the disease of alcoholism as a younger woman but, happily, was able to maintain 47 years of sobriety with help from recovery groups and the friends she made there. Edith is survived by her daughter, Martha, and by many beloved nieces and nephews and their families. A memorial service and gathering for family and friends will take place on Friday, January 17th at 11:00am. Please send any donations to her much-loved New York Society Library.