Birth date: May 1, 1947 Death date: Oct 16, 2015
Beloved husband and brother Donald Raymond Davis passed away on October 16, 2015 at the age of 68. Don was born on May 1, 1947 in East Syracuse, NY, son of Harvey Raymond and Katheryn Davis. Don spent his childhood in the Syracus Read Obituary
Working with Don on IP strategy projects was a pleasure. I had chosen a legal education in the late 70s. As a generally creative person I was always interested in IP rights, but learned that without an engineering or science degree I didn’t have a chance of working in the field of intellectual property. Over the years I worked with scientists, engineers, managers, and attorneys on a variety of business and marketing projects. By 2003 I was determined to make the career transition into intellectual property. In 2005 I earned an LLM-IP. IP strategy was the next step for me. But how would I get into the field? It made sense to find attorneys who were practicing in the area of IP strategy. I attended an ABA conference session about IP strategy; of course Don was one of the panelists. I introduced myself and I explained that my consulting organization was also involved with IP strategy. I asked if his group would be interested in taking some of the overflow. The magic words. He introduced me to Dave Crawford, and said there would be projects on which they could use my help. Over a period of three or four years Don gave me the opportunity to work with some amazing minds on fascinating projects. Thank you, Don!
I met Don back in 2000 when I joined the team at ipCapital Group. The day he interviewed me for the job I had a feeling it was going to be a good fit… and it was. I truly enjoyed working with Don and was lucky enough to continue our working relationship for 6 years. I got to know him as a boss, a mentor and a friend. He was an amazing person.
Some of the words that come to my mind when I shut my eyes and think about him include: compassionate, strong, intelligent, driven, hard working, optimistic, trustworthy, humble, and always so fair.
He was one of a kind … he had such a wonderful soft demeanor and his sense of humor always pulled us through the tough times.
I am so very sorry to hear the news … life has a way of moving so quickly and sometimes we get caught up in the “rush” of our daily lives and don’t take the time to do the things that really matter… In 2006, our paths went in different directions and I wish that I had made an effort to keep in touch with Don over the last 9 years… my great loss… he was such a wonderful man.
I pray for all of those who were close to him to get to a peaceful place… in time… especially Toni, Dave and Joe – who I had the good fortune to meet through Don.
God Bless, Jeanne (Zagursky) Dalessandro
When I first meat Don in 2000 at ipCapital Group, he made an impression of a kind, quiet person with a touch of mystery, who managed to avoid getting into the pictures I was taking at the company social events. One of Don’s talents was an extraordinary ability to find clients, which was probably the reason our startup company survived its first recession back then. It was definitely the reason I have worked on very interesting IP analytics projects after we reconnected several years later in Florida. I wish my brief professional experience with Don lasted a lot longer. I will miss him…
Alexey
Toni, Glenn and the Davis Family,
Don and I first met about 16 years ago. Although it's somewhat embarrassing, I'm the client Dave Crawford talks about in his Tribute. I remember the call well; I had just come out of a difficult corporate session where I was squeezed into making some extraordinary financial forecasts (which then needed Don's client's software to execute) and, well, I grew up outside NYC, and sometimes speak my mind too plainly. Don softly, but plainly as well, let me know what my only legal options were but then offered up his own help in finding an alternative vendor. I instantly took stock of his adroit approach to solving problems: often the missing link in commercializing IP. We shared a collaborative philosophy on deal making. In the IP trade, that was somewhat of a rare approach in those days. We became good friends, and enjoyed many conversations. I found much comfort in his company while away from home on our joint missions. We did our best to advance the art of collaborative deal making using intellectual property to innovate. Don scrutinized IP practices he observed then consolidated them into the best ones. He taught us to identify "high value" problems for potential customers then commercializing inventions that evolve from the effort. Don pushed the envelope in helping others to dream big and then make it really work. He saw virtue in labor and raised our intellects to apply it most efficiently.
As our friendship evolved, he became one of those closest friends. The kind you want to hold on to grow old with. We talked about that often; when we drifted into discussion around making sure we get some time to enjoy the simpler pleasures in life, like his growing tomatoes with Harvey or spending more time with Toni. He coached me into developing a better work-life balance; and how to carry forward our values into our personal relationships in ways those we loved could best appreciate or understand. He was talented leader and especially applied the art of "force multiplying" resources through deep reasoning to get a win-win result, with minimum controversy. He was gifted in putting his point of view across by listening first then synthesizing a topic into something of special interest. For instance, mindful of my Asian negotiation experiences, he thought I could improve my results by sometimes finding a way around certain problems instead of getting frustrated by meeting them "head on". Late one evening, while influenced by his best selection of wine, he responded to my agonizing tale of unruly "Corporate Darwinism" which I was suffering in a deal. He suggested I read "Shogun" again but take some lessons from the elegant way Clavell's Toranoga character approached his adversaries. It worked!
Don was that rare person who applied his intelligence, experience, optimism, hard work, humor, common sense and pragmatism all together to energetically get the job done. In the IP trade you find people that are good at only a few of these traits. Don made all of them work as needed and "on point". He was a virtual master at being there when needed. I am forever amazed at the patience he could exercise during conference calls imposed on him at the last minute to suit a client's demanding schedule. Several times I recall him managing those conversations over his cell phone (with slight interruptions caused by the gauntlet of airport security checks en-route to meet his flight).
Don spoke of his family often. He was grounded in their well-being. He was proud to be his parent's son and wanted to set the right example for others to follow, generationally. He accomplished that with me and I'm sure many others.
May he rest in peace; but live on in our memories. When I close in toward that last moment, I hope I can muster the courage he showed in accepting his painful afflictions yet remaining steadfast in his goodwill to others.
God bless you Don, forever.
It was December 2007, we started working for Don as a service provider in Patent Research . We were just a nine month old company, then. I used to wonder, how Don was able to make a judgement that we would be a dependable service provider.The projects we have done for him over the periods are extraordinary projects. All his projects were strategic in nature. He gave us an opportunity to be part of such good projects.
He had the unusual talent of conveying the scope of the difficult projects in a very easy to understand manner. He was always fair. He always treated us as a stakeholder for his projects.
On the seventh anniversary of our relationship I wrote him " This enduring relationship is possible only with your patronage.... On this occasion, I would convey to you that we value our relationship very high and we rededicate ourselves to serve you better and better in the years ahead"
His reply moved me."We have learned to trust your judgment and research and to use it to support our engagements with some of the best firms in the world. We sincerely appreciate the integrity and confidentiality you bring to our projects. This the basis of our strong relationship and we look forward to entrusting many more projects with you" .
The reciprocal and acknowledging attitude of Don is the hall mark of his relationship..
Don, we are missing you.
May your soul rest in peace. May the God give strength to your family to handle this unbearable loss.
- Raju Elangovan
E-Merge tech
India
Toni, I only met Don once, when Suzy died. We all prayed for him for years. I am so sorry for your loss. I pray that God will give you peace and strength to get thru this for you have have endured much. Debbie Guilfoyle (terri's prayer group)
I worked with Don for many years in IP consulting. We had a very successful firm and had the opportunity to work with many of leading companies in the world including 3M, Honeywell, GE and Microsoft.
One of my first experiences with Don was going into his consulting office after a client call he just made. He said the call went VERY well and we may be visiting a new client soon. Of course I was interested……….
I asked him about the call and he said he had just called to tell the client we were shutting of a software service the client was using. That the client was NOT happy and had “beat” Don up for an hour.
Puzzled about how this was a GOOD sales call - I inquired further. Don said - yea maybe the the first call was a bit rough - but I think we can work with this guy…………...Needless to say I was doubtful.
That client ended up being GE and we worked with them for more than five years.
Don was a guy who was always moving forward. If he was knocked sideways he always got backup and ran at it again. And again. His spirit to succeed was inspiring.
He excelled at developing relationships with very senior people at the companies we worked. I once asked him how he did it? What book should I read?
Don said you know ………………..“it just really understanding that EVERYONE puts their pants on one leg at a time”
Don’s optimism, drive and compassion made him a rare person. He will be very missed.
Don was a kind and decent man who loved his family above all. Since I first met him I admired his spirit of adventure, the fearlessness with which he would tackle new projects, and the way he encouraged others to push their boundaries and try something new. He saw the potential in others and helped them discover it in themselves. Don was the eternal optimist who never accepted failure easily - there was always 'a way' to get something done, and he was never one to give up without a fight - witness his tenacious attempt to beat leukemia. His sense of humor was well-developed, and he could make fun of himself and his own shortcomings, too. These are all wonderful qualities, and by themselves would be enough of a recommendation for any person, but I believe Don's lasting legacy will be his boundless generosity. The kindnesses he bestowed upon our family are countless, and all without a thought of anything in return. And we were no exception. That's the way Don was. and that's the way I will remember him always. I am thankful for the opportunity to have known Don. He will not be forgotten.
