Dorothy H. Davis

Dorothy Hall Davis, 85 years old, died on Monday, April 5, 2010.
She was the beloved wife of Morris Davis and would have been married for 65 years on May 26th. Born September 8, 1924 in Chicago, she was the daughter of Dr. Royal Glenn Hall and Ella Taylor Hall of Albion, MI.
Dorothy took a year out of Guilford College in 1943/44 to work in a Quaker summer camp in Philadelphia and then in a Quaker Settlement House, the Friends Neighborhood Guild. There she met Morris and they married at Frankford Friends Meeting in1945. She completed her B.A. in sociology at Temple University, an M.A. in Art Education at Southern Connecticut State College and taught art in Branford Ct. and ceramics in Lowes Grove, NC.
Above all, Dorothy was a modest person whose passion drove her to create. After working in her clay studio all day, she relaxed in the evening by creating beautiful quilts. Circumstances allowed her time to evolve as a ceramic artist all her married life. Her artistic accomplishments were well recognized in North Carolina and beyond, being especially recognized for mastery of the oil spot glaze. She was one of the founders of Craft House, Carolina Designer Craftsmen, as well as the Clayworks Guild. She loved to travel and gathered ideas and inspiration around the world.
Her children said that what mattered most to Dorothy was the joy of exploration and discovering new ways of doing things. She was endlessly motivated, excited and inspired while fiercely independent and compassionate. Her favorite days were the “ordinary” days of life when she worked in her studio, not necessarily big holidays or some special occasions. The ceramics community admired her skill, her willingness to share technical information, knowledge, and generosity toward her fellow potters
Dorothy’s survivors are her sister Louise Hobbs of Des Plaines, IL, the oldest of four predeceased siblings, Renee Davis, sister-in-law of Fredrickstad, USVI, Dorothy’s six children and spouses: Glenn Davis and Naomi Breslau of East Lansing , MI, Beth Nyblade of Bellingham, WA, Cynthia Davis of Allentown, PA., Debbie Davis of Allentown, PA, Kitty Stalberg, of Chapel Hill, NC, and Martha Werlen and her husband, Hansjakob Werlen of Swarthmore, PA. The grandchildren, spouses, great grandchildren are: Jason Davis and Julia Griffin of Cleveland, OH, Galen and Anne Davis of San Francisco, CA; Grace and Adam Santo and children, Alexander and Daniel of Silver Spring; MD, Ruth and Ben Hidy and children, Floyd and Maxine, of Deming, WA; Ben Nyblade, Angela O’ Mahoney and daughter, Nessa, of Vancouver, B.C.; Monica Toth of Walla Walla, WA, Sylvia Toth of Chapel Hill, NC children of Debbie Davis; Allison Stalberg of Chapel Hill, NC; Laura Werlen of Berlin, Germany, and Travis Werlen of Seattle, WA.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Dorothy Davis Scholarship Fund, care of Jo Lovorn, Secretary, Clayworks, 2 Chatfield Court, Hillsborough, NC 27278, or to the Community Church of Chapel Hill, 106 Purefoy Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27514.