Richard K. Davis

1930 - 2017

March 30, 1930 - March 24, 2017 Richard K. Davis, a longtime Malibu resident, passed away peacefully at home on March 24th. He was 86. Mr. Davis was born in Bremerton, WA, into a Navy family. His father died when he was 6 and his mother moved the family to Coronado, CA, where he grew up. It was here that he developed his lifelong love for surfing. He attended the New Mexico Military Institute for high school where he played football and basketball. He also earned a full scholarship to Cornell University where he played lacrosse and developed his passion for the "Big Red" lacrosse team. After graduating with a degree in Anthropology, he joined the Army as a 2nd Lieutenant and shipped off to Korea. After returning, he went to work for Sperry Rand Univac in New York City, beginning a career in the computer industry. While in New York, he also married Jane Kiely on May 4, 1957. In 1958, they moved to Berkeley where he earned an MBA in Operations Research from UC Berkeley and they also had the first of their six children. Upon graduating, they moved to Hinsdale, IL, where he worked for Touche Ross (now Deloitte & Touche) and they had their second child. After two years, they returned to California so that he could go to work for North American Aviation. They took up residence in Malibu and would eventually have four more children. In the early 1970s, he and his business partner acquired Performance Development Corporation. Over the next 40+ years they would travel the US and the world advising many of the Fortune 500 and various arms of the Federal government in structuring and effectively utilizing their mainframe computer systems. Mr. Davis was a longtime Board member and President of the LaCosta Homeowners Association, he was President of Malibu Coastal Vision and was an active alumnus backer of the New Mexico Military Institute. He was named the 2004 Citizen of the Year by the Malibu Times. More recently, he organized a concert in Malibu to raise funds for the homeless. In his spare time, he traveled the world, sometimes with his wife and sometimes to exotic surf spots with his kids and other surfing buddies. He was predeceased by his daughter, Sarah, and is survived by his wife of 59 years, 5 children, 11 grandchildren and 1 step-grandchild. The funeral mass will be held on Saturday, April 1st, at Our Lady of Malibu Church. If you have an questions, please send an email to gregdavis26@gmail.com.