Martin Robert Davis

Martin R. Davis, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, mentor, and friend, passed away peacefully on May 28, 2024. He is survived by his wife Harriet, his children Harley (Ghanima), Cindy, Greg (Hope), and Brian (Ashlee); his sister Roz; and his grandchildren Gabrielle, Calypso, Quinn, Jeremy, Adam, Andy, and Mika. Marty was born on July 16, 1937, in Toledo, Ohio, where he lived a full life and enriched the community. Marty was devoted to his family, his friends, and his community; he was a living demonstration of how much one can give back and live a full and happy life. He was a true role model.
It was not always a straightforward path. When he was born, prematurely, his mother said, he was the ugliest baby she had ever seen, shriveled like a peanut. (Lest there be any doubt, his mother loved him as only a Jewish mother can!) Fortunately, things quickly improved from there.
He was a joiner, and was a leader in every group he joined. As a teenager, he was an Eagle Scout in Toledo Troop 11. After attending Scott and Devilbiss high schools, he studied pharmacy at the University of Toledo and joined the AE fraternity where he made lifelong friends. He served his country in the National Guard. And most importantly, he became engaged to Harriet, the love of his life, after a persistently dogged pursuit that started innocently with ice skating in Ottawa Park but escalated to include a pink convertible on fire parked outside her dorm in Ann Arbor. Who could resist that? The 62-year marriage was a partnership in every sense as Marty and Harriet raised four children and worked together at Marty's business for decades – and created enormous amounts of naches (joy and pride).
Marty's business and passion was serving others. Marty opened Colony Pharmacy in 1964 and it quickly became an institution. It even included a soda fountain, serving milk shakes and hamburgers to hungry locals. Over time, Marty expanded and opened the local chain of Pharmacy Counters and won numerous awards as he became the leading local expert in diabetes education; his work educating patients and training others to do the same added years of life to countless people.
Marty was a pillar of the Toledo Jewish community. A lifelong member of Congregation B'nai Israel, Marty served as its president from 1985 to 1987. He knew and schmoozed with everyone; he was always the last one out of synagogue on Saturdays because he had to catch up with all his friends and share the latest news and stories.
Marty loved to laugh. His jokes were legendary, and he loved telling them. Sometimes it was the same one everyone had already heard – but he told it so well! He could easily be seized by uncontrollable fits of laughing when something funny happened – it was a joy to behold despite the occasional awkward moments. (We won't detail the episode where he accidently spilled an entire glass of Coke on an elderly patron at a steakhouse and desperately tried to avoid laughing the entire time.)
But mostly, Marty has devoted to his family. His love for his wife, children, sister, cousins, grandchildren, niece and nephew, and the whole extended family, was deep. He showed that love endlessly in so many ways, whether by spending time in activities like fishing and golfing, attending kids' sports events, or just giving a backrub to a family member and asking how things were and saying how much he loved them. He was an Indian Guides leader, leading his kids to annual defeats in the pinewood derby despite the very best engineering ideas. He was a softball and baseball coach to his kids' teams, taking them for ice cream to Custard's Last Stand after every loss. In other words, Marty was a winner in the deepest sense of the word. And everyone who knew him won in the lottery of life because he gave back so much to them. He will be missed and cherished forever.
The funeral will be held at Temple B'nai Israel on Thursday, May 30, 2024, at 1 pm. There will be a service and visitation at the Davis house on Thursday afternoon from 4-7 pm and on Sunday from 2-7 pm. Donations to Congregation B'nai Israel in Marty's memory are welcome.
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