Saturday
23
November
Celebration of Life
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Saturday, November 23, 2024
First United Methodist Church - Schenectady
603 State Street
SCHENECTADY, New York, United States
Obituary of Clifford D. Davis
A Paradoxical Life
SCOTIA –
Clifford D. Davis, who taught at State University of New York – Cobleskill from 1989 until his retirement in 2013, passed away on Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2024, in Altamont, NY.
Cliff was born in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, on January 14,1946. He earned a BA and an MBA from Eastern Washington University in 1971 and 1977, respectively.
He began his academic career as a teaching fellow at Eastern Washington University before joining the faculty at Columbia College in Columbia, MO. Cliff continued his teaching journey with faculty positions at Lincoln University of Missouri and Grambling State University in Louisiana before finding his permanent academic home at SUNY Cobleskill.
During his 24 years at SUNY Cobleskill, Cliff served as a professor and chair of Business Administration. He was actively involved in the United University Professors union, serving as a State Delegate and Officer for retirees. In addition to serving on the College governance committees, he also served on the board of the Campus Childcare Development Center.
Outside of his academic career, Cliff lived a life of rich contrasts. Though he called a small village in central New York home, he was truly a citizen of the world. He joined the Navy during the Vietnam War and followed that service by volunteering in the Peace Corps. Cliff was an educator, yet forever a student of life; a deeply private individual, yet unfailingly generous in spirit. He cared little for material things, but boy did he adore his car. He found peace in the quiet moments, but so loved to talk. Though he lived alone, he was never truly alone (see earlier point about his love of talking). And while he was born into a small family, he built a life within a strong community of friends, neighbors, colleagues and church family—people with whom he shared countless meals, evenings at the symphony, and endless late-night conversations (again, that love of talking). This community supported him in deeply meaningful ways, especially during the last year and a half of his life, for which his family will be forever grateful.
Cliff is survived by his aunt Mazzie Brooks; niece Jacqueline “Sheila” Palmer, and his cousins Michael England; Patricia Jones, née Reid; Alexis (Manny) Edwards; Ronald (Alethea) Neil III; Larry (Jessica) Edwards; Teresa Williams; Brandon Neil; Andre England; Cory (Toni) Capel and a host of other members of the Reid and Davis families.
He was predeceased by his parents, Joe Nathan Davis and Mildred Davis, née Reid; his brother Bernard Davis; and his beloved cousins, Blondell Williams, née England; Delores Kaiser, née England; Thelma Neil née Roper.
Please join us in celebrating his life Saturday, November 23, 2024, at 10:00 am at his church home: First United Methodist Church - Schenectady, 603 State Street, Schenectady, NY 12305. Streaming available: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstUMCSchenectady/streams
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Cliff’s honor to one of the organizations he supported: First United Methodist Church – Schenectady (https://fumcschenectady.org); SUNY Cobleskill College Foundation (https://www.cobleskill.edu/about/offices-services/advancement/make-a-gift.aspx)
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy, may be shared with Cliff's family, online at: SimpleChoicesCremation.com
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