Stanley Jack Davidson

CINCINNATI, OH - Stanley Jack Davidson, Sr., 99, passed away peacefully on Thursday, May 12, in the Forest Hills Care Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Stanley was a near-perfect embodiment of the American ideal of the self-made man. Tall, with a strong jaw, piercing eyes, and a muscular swagger, he looked a lot like Superman. And, like the man of Steel, Stanley was born in chaos and orphaned young, but used seemingly inexhaustible strength and will to build a remarkably successful life for himself. Stanley was born in Providence, RI, in difficult circumstances that only got worse. His father, Jacob Samuel Davidson, was born in Kaunus, Lithuania, to Jewish parents who took their large family across the ocean to Worcester, MA. There, Jacob met and married Annabelle Augustus Lewis, who had fled her poor, tough, yankee family in Wiscasset, Maine. Jacob and Annabelle soon had three young children—Stanley and his younger siblings, Eli “Iggy” Robert and Phyllis Jane (Briggs). After they moved back to Worcester, horribly, Jacob contracted tuberculosis and, after a long illness, died before Stanley was 7. Annabelle, a loving but impoverished mother, put Stanley and Iggy in an orphanage for a time. SStanley worked hard, even before adolescence, making and saving money. In high school, he met Helen Bestick, and, soon, Stanley, too, was a young father in a house filled with little children: the four Js: Stanley Jack, Jr. (always known as Jack or Jackie), Judy (Kelleher), Joel, and Jerry. Stanley—raised without a father, grandfather, uncles or much of any paternal figure—had to invent the man he became on his own. For many, he was the perfect model for the Greatest generation. He was brilliant, charming, funny, a magical dancer and such a hard worker. He would, later, express regret that, like many fathers of the age, he was often too firm at home. It was the heart of the Great Depression, but, luckily, Helen’s family did not abandon this young couple. Helen’s father got Stanley a job at Heald Machine, where Stanley would work for 54 years (though the company would be bought and subsumed into Cincinnati Milacron). Stanley was, surely, one of the hardest working men to ever enter those (or any) factory gates. He often worked double shifts, overseeing the production of Heald’s internal and external grinders. During World War II, Stanley desperately wanted to perform his patriotic duty, but was repeatedly told that the country needed grinders more than they needed one more soldier. External grinders made ball bearings, which were an essential part of every tank, aircraft, ship, or other fighting tool. As Stanley said, throughout his life, “You can’t fight a World War without ball bearings.” Finally, Stanley joined the Army Air Corps and went for pilot training, though the war ended before he was able to fight overseas. When he returned to Heald Machine in Worcester, he also enrolled at Harvard Business School. He earned a Masters in Business Administration, even without an undergraduate college degree. Stanley’s life can be divided into two parts: the Worcester period and the Amy period. In 1965, after his divorce, while working for Heald in England, he met and fell in love with a beautiful, young Norwegian woman, Amy Bevan (nee Kvamme). Stanley also fell in love with her two children Kevin Bevan and Madeleine Jane Bevan (Boubal). Older and more established by then, Stanley was able to be a much warmer father to these beloved children. (Sadly, cancer took Madeline far too early). Stanley and Amy, with young Kevin and Maddy, settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Stanley became a leading figure at Milacron and helped guide the company through a series of profound global economic challenges in the 1970s and 1980s. He retired a successful man, with homes in Ohio, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Amy’s native Norway. He remained healthy for decades, traveling and enjoying the life of a man who had triumphed over early challenges. Even his increasingly-severe Parkinson’s barely slowed him down. He was traveling around the U.S. and overseas at 92. Only recently, was Stanley confined to a care center and a bed where, right until the end, he often revealed a sharp mind and a twinkle in his eyes. He thrilled at every kiss from Amy—there were countless ones each and every day until his last. Stanley is survived by Amy and five children: Jack, Judy, Joel, Jerry and Kevin. And by 14 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and one brand new great-great-grandson. Most of us wish we had known him better but are cherishing the time we had with him over the past few decades.



Services will be at Hope Cemetery on Saturday, June 4, at 10:30 AM. Memorials to the Parkinson Support and Wellness of Greater Cincinnati, 260 Stetson St. Suite 2300, Cincinnati, OH 45219.