Sara Ewing Davis

Sara Ewing Davis, 75, of Easton, Maryland, passed away peacefully on December 26, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, surrounded by her loving husband, daughter and son, and their spouses. Sara and her husband, Philip, were visiting their daughter for the Christmas holiday. Sara had developed idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis earlier in 2024.

While in Minneapolis, Sara succumbed to respiratory failure. Sara always displayed a positive attitude, to the extent that most of her friends were unaware of the seriousness of her condition.

Sara was born on May 21, 1949, in Bern, Switzerland, to Jacquelyn Knapp and Richard Tucker Ewing. Her father's career as a Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. State Department took Sara in her youth across Asia, including to Burma (now Myanmar) and Taiwan. When the family returned to the U.S., Sara attended and graduated from The Holton-Arms School in 1967 and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Hollins College in 1971, after which she served in several Congressional offices on Capitol Hill and, thereafter, as a paralegal at Kirkland & Ellis and Steptoe & Johnson. Sara earned her Master of Business Administration from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia in 1979, where she was one of the first female graduates. Sara then worked at the National Association of Securities Dealers before retiring to raise her family.

She married Philip, whom she met at Kirkland & Ellis, in 1979. They welcomed their
daughter Elizabeth Maitland in 1982 and their son William Christopher Marshall in 1984, whom they raised in Northern Virginia. Sara strongly believed in the value of education and strongly encouraged Elizabeth's and William's academic and athletic performance. She was deeply involved in their education from elementary school through college, often serving as "room mother" and "team mom." Sara looked with great pride at their accomplishments in school and their successful careers afterwards.

When not devoting her time and energies to her children, Sara engaged in numerous charitable endeavors, twice chairing The Washington Winter Show, the second oldest charitable antiques show in the United States, and working as a Court Appointed Special Advocate. Sara was also a member of The Sulgrave Club (following in her mother's footsteps), the Colonial Dames of America, Women's Board of Columbia Hospital and the Garden Club of Alexandria, where she successfully created many prize-winning floral arrangements.

Reflecting the value they placed on education, Philip and Sara established the Philip and Sara Davis Endowed Scholarship in Government Procurement at George Washington University Law School, a need-based scholarship for students interested in government contracts law.

Sara and Philip eventually moved permanently to their long-time second home in Easton, Maryland, where Sara enjoyed activities at the Woman's Club of St. Michaels, participated in a book club with some lady friends and was active at Christ Church - St. Michaels where she continued her love of arranging flowers by serving on the Flower Guild. Sara and Philip are members of the Talbot Country Club, Talbot Historical Society, the Academy Art Museum and the Producers Guild of the Avalon Foundation in Easton.

Family was Sara's cherished treasure. She was boundlessly happy and thankful to have her entire immediate family together this past August at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. She also fondly remembered family vacations at Flat Creek Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and a chartered family excursion along the coast of Alaska. Sara's immense pleasure was interacting with and repeatedly viewing videos of her four grandchildren.

Sara's five siblings remember her generous and supportive spirit, her wonderful hosting of many family events and her vibrant joie de vivre. As they were all growing up, her lively sense of fun often led to her breaking out in infectious laughter, song or dance. Likewise, her many friends have commented that they will remember her bright and lively personality, her personal charm and sweet smile which lit up any space and her smart and well-informed nature. Sara was loved and admired by so many and is sorely missed.

Sara is survived by her loving husband of 45 years, Philip, her daughter Elizabeth, son-in- law Noah Hirsch, and granddaughters Alexandra Maitland and Sloane Aaron, her son William, daughter-in-law Lauren Cahill, grandson Bennett Henry and granddaughter Phoebe June, all of whom Sara deeply treasured and enjoyed. She is also survived by her five siblings Maitland Lammert (Richard), Richard T. Ewing, Jr. (Jane), Elizabeth Ewing, Tucker Ewing, and John R. Ewing (Anne), and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on February 22, 2025, at 11 a.m. at Christ Church - St. Michaels in St. Michaels, Maryland, with a reception immediately following at Talbot Country Club in Easton, Maryland. For Sara's friends who are not able to make it to St. Michaels, a reception will be held at the Sulgrave Club in Washington, DC from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, 2025.

In lieu of flowers, the family would greatly appreciate donations to the Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic through the Johns Hopkins Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Fund or the Philip and Sara Davis Endowed Scholarship in Government Procurement at George Washington University Law School.