CATHERINE DAVISON

DAVISON--Catherine C.

Known by her Russian nickname, "Katusha," she was born in 1930 in Toulouse, France. Her parents, Count Vassily and Countess Daria Cheremeteff, were White Russian emigres who fled the 1917 Revolution. She grew up in the Haute Savoie and moved to Paris during the Nazi Occupation, winning a medal for bravery at age 14 for saving a boy who was swimming in a canal as a fighter plane tried to strafe their group. She immigrated to the United States with her mother and younger brother, Nikita, in 1947 and graduated from Bryn Mawr College. She married Daniel P. Davison of New York in 1953, and together they raised three sons (Danny Jr., George and Harry) in New York and in London. She was her husband's active guide and consort throughout his career as a banker at JP Morgan and then as Chairman & CEO of the United States Trust Company of New York. She is credited with founding the volunteer program at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which has become a cohort of 1,250 men and women working throughout the museum. While living in London in the 1970's, she became involved with the American Museum in Britain, and the Friends of Covent Garden Opera. Returning to New York, she applied her considerable organizational skills to resuscitating the Morgan Library's retail store, once a humble purveyor of postcards and prints, helping it morph into a sophisticated specialty retailer generating hundreds of thousands of dollars of income to support exhibits. She also served on the Board of International House and was Board Chair of the Nassau County Museum of Art. Until the end of her life, she was a member of the Board of the Florence Gould Foundation. The Republic of France made her a Chevalier (Knight) of the Legion of Honour, the country's highest civilian order, for her work promoting Franco-American relations through cultural exchange. Katusha believed in getting people together around the table to enjoy good food and stimulating conversation. She loved history and was a voracious reader. She was a member of the Foreign Policy Association, the Piping Rock Club and the Colony Club. On Friday afternoons she had a regular subscription to the New York Philharmonic, and enjoyed the intimacy of chamber music. She ran her homes with precision, and was known for her ability to host huge house parties in New York, London, Locust Valley and Georgia, seemingly without effort. She was devoted to her friends and family, holding everyone in her orbit to high standards, and encouraging them to reach for excellence. She died peacefully in New York on October 29, 2016 from complications arising from Parkinson's disease. She is survived by her three sons, their wives (Betsey Weltner, Judith Rivkin and Kristina Davison), seven grandchildren and a great-grand- daughter. A service to celebrate her life is scheduled for 2pm on Saturday, November 5th at St. John's of Lattingtown in Locust Valley, NY. Gifts, in lieu of flowers, may be sent to Christodora, Inc. at 1 East 53rd St., NYC, NY 10022; Grace Church School, 86 Fourth Ave., NYC, NY 10003 or the Preschool at St. John's of Lattingtown in Locust Valley, NY.