William Dalton Davis Jr.

1923 - 2021

2/10/1923 - 7/21/2021 With sadness we announce the passing of William Dalton (Bill) Davis, Jr. on July 21, 2021. He had a long and interesting life and he lived in a wonderful mood of appreciation and gratitude. He was one of the last of the Greatest Generation, having served in WWII as a young Naval officer. And he was the beloved patriarch of a family of four children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. He was born in San Diego on February 10, 1923, to Leora and William Dalton Davis. The only child of a Navy doctor, he traveled extensively while young, living in the Philippines and China, and completing a trip around the world by age 7. He spent his teen years in Virginia and then Hawaii, graduating from Punahou High School in Honolulu in June 1941. He left Hawaii in September of '41 to attend Pomona College. His plans changed with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December of that year, and he transferred to the Navy officer program at the University of Virginia. He was commissioned in September of 1944. He was posted to the ill-fated USS Indianapolis before being sent to a new assignment shortly before its fatal voyage (he always said he was lucky). His new ship was an attack transport, USS Collingsworth, where he was in charge of six landing craft. After the war, he stayed in the Navy to be part of the new field of atomic weapons. He traveled around the world on the USS Hornet and served on the staff of CINCPACFLT (Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet) as the nuclear weapons officer. Along the way, he had a fun assignment as senior White House social aide to President Eisenhower and escorted Dwight's niece, Ruth Eisenhower through her debutante year. His final Navy position was to oversee the status and location of all US nuclear weapons ("They were mine until a crisis, then they belonged to the President") in the early '60s. It was while working at the White House that he met the love of his life, Georgia Bailey, a stewardess with American Airlines, whom he wed in 1959 and with whom he would have four children. His love for her grew stronger and stronger over their 62 years together. After retiring from the Navy in 1965, he and Georgia, plus three kids, moved to California where he worked in the aerospace and defense industries for TRW and Litton Industries. After a stay in San Bernardino where they added another kid, they settled in Rolling Hills Estates in 1967. During this second career, he worked on transportation systems, the moon race, spy satellites, and a new class of Navy destroyers. He was active in the Kiwanis Club, Rolling Hills United Methodist Church, AYSO, Indian Guides, the Long Beach Navy Yacht Club, and the Masongate HOA, where he introduced the first solar-powered neighborhood entryway lights in the city. He loved spending time with his family and his beloved sailboat, Kaomi. He loved to travel and enjoyed exploring South America with his youngest son, Stuart, boating in Tahiti, and sailing and skiing with his son Eric. He shared a love for horseback riding with his daughter, Becca, and was her greatest cheerleader for diving. The ladies all knew him as an outstanding dancer (his secret, he said, was to make the ladies look good). When he retired, he began to focus on a long-time dream: an innovative transportation system he had developed to reduce traffic and improve safety. The BiModal Glideway would enable cars to drive on surface streets and also to enter an elevated high-speed rail network. His son Chris supported him in being awarded two patents for the system and getting it publicized. To his kids, he was a wonderful father, always patient and always supportive. To his wife, he was a loving husband. And to friends and all who knew him, his easy demeanor and pleasant mood was a reminder that life is something to appreciate always. He died peacefully in his own bed under the care of his granddaughter Sheryl. He will be missed by all who knew him, but especially by his loving family including his wife Georgia; his children and their spouses, Christopher (Ruth) Davis, Eric Davis, Rebecca Davis (Tom Valente), and Stuart (Laurel) Davis; and his grandchildren, Sheryl, Emily, Elizabeth, and Joseph Davis; Kate and Tad Valente; Dalton Davis; and Bailey Davis; as well as his great-grandchildren, Anabel Hernandez and Benjamin Kaing. A celebration of a life well lived will be held at Rolling Hills United Methodist Church on Sunday, August 15, at 1pm. Reception to follow immediately at the church. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Green Hills Memorial Park 310-831-0311