Harold 'Dave' Emerson Davis

Harold “Dave” Emerson Davis, age nearly 90, of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, died at home on October 4, 2025.

Dave was born October 18, 1935, to Harold Emerson and Mary Brown Davis, in Peterborough, NH. He grew up on his grandfather’s family farm in Jaffrey. His mother was a schoolteacher and his father was a chef at the Monadnock Inn (which they owned for a time) and later at the Woodbound Inn. As a teenager, Dave and his brother Peter ran up and down Mount Monadnock daily, bringing refreshments to the snack bar on the summit.

He attended Phillips Academy Andover on scholarship, and later enrolled at Dartmouth College before leaving to join the Army, where he served in the Signal Corps. After his service, he graduated from the University of New Hampshire, class of 1963.

Dave married Dorothy Newbegin in 1956. They lived in California; Alaska; New York; Pennsylvania; Andover, Massachusetts; and Wisconsin before settling in Groton, Massachusetts for 53 years. They had two children, Robert Emerson and Katharine Brown Davis. They were devoted to family and were particularly dedicated to hosting large family Thanksgivings at their home every year. An avid photographer and woodworker, Dave documented every event for decades and filled their home with handcrafted furniture.

An engineer and an entrepreneur at heart, Dave held multiple patents and worked in industry and government contracting. Dave was proud to have started two businesses, “one that failed and one that succeeded,” as he described it. His successful business, Wastewater Alternatives, was inspired when Dave and his brother discovered that a house they were building required a leach field bigger than its lot. Dave declared that “There must be a better way.” The company was founded in 1992 to produce his own design of septic systems that allowed people to safely build on smaller lots and closer to waterfronts by performing the biological functions of a leach field within a tank. He was awarded the University of New Hampshire College of Engineering and Physical Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015.

He participated in a number of organizations that benefitted his communities and the people around him, including the Nashua River Watershed Association, which reflected his ongoing interest in clean water. He was a longtime member of the Groton Lions Club and later the Jaffrey-Rindge Rotary Club. He was also a dedicated fan of the Patriots and UNH football.

Dave is predeceased by his beloved wife, Dorothy. He is survived by his good friend and brother, Peter Davis; his children, Kate Davis and her husband Brian Michalowski, and Rob Davis and his wife Chris Schloder; his grandchildren, Nik Bordia and his wife Randi-Lynn Santa Cruz, Sam Bordia, Julia Davis, and Andrew Davis; his great-grandchildren, Astrid Bordia and Solaris Fajardo; his nieces, nephew, grandniece, and grandnephew; sister-in-law Anne Webb and her husband, Cassius Webb; and his longtime friend and recent partner, Diane Temple.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 pm on October 13, 2025 at First Church in Jaffrey, 14 Laban Ainsworth Way, Jaffrey, NH. There will be a viewing before the service in the First Church Parish Hall at 1:30. The service will be followed immediately by a burial in the Old Burial Ground, and a reception in the First Church Parish Hall.

Those who wish to honor Dave's memory with a donation may consider First Church in Jaffrey (address above) or The Park Theatre (https://theparktheatre.org), both of which held special places in his heart.