Leslie Davis pursued justice for all

By Rebecca Jones, Special to the Rocky

Published November 17, 2007 at 12:05 a.m.

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Davis served with a number of civic groups, charities.

Leslie Davis grew up with privilege and affluence, but her driving passion was always the pursuit of justice for the oppressed. She died at her home in Denver on Nov. 10, at age 85.

Mrs. Davis was the daughter of Lester and Louise Friedman, and the granddaughter of one of the pioneers of Denver, Leopold H. Guldman, who opened the city's first department store, the Golden Eagle Dry Goods Company, in 1879. She grew up in a mansion by Cheesman Park, a copy of a palace in Paris, recalled her son, Warren Davis, of Washington, D.C.

An avid athlete, Mrs. Davis was the state pingpong champion as a teenager in the 1930s. Her son noted that Mrs. Davis had a controversial style of play, marked by tough defense, which garnered substantial newspaper coverage. She was invited to play on the United States national team, but her father refused to allow her to take part in a team trip to Japan.

"This was just a couple of months before Pearl Harbor," Warren Davis said.

After graduating from Denver's East High School, Mrs. Davis enrolled in Bennington College in Vermont. She stayed only a year before transferring to Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. Because of security concerns during World War II, the West Coast college endured nightly blackouts for the whole year.

"All the windows had to be covered," her son said. "It wasn't much fun for her."

At the end of that year, Mrs. Davis returned to Colorado and finally received her bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

In 1944, she married Maj. Norman Davis, who preceded her in death in 1993.

After her marriage, Mrs. Davis never held a paying job. But she directed her considerable energies into raising her three sons and in becoming a leader in numerous civic and charitable organizations around town.

She chaired the Women's Division of the National Jewish Hospital and later served as president of Children's Hospital. She and her husband each chaired the Denver chapter of the Anti-defamation League, and she became the first woman to serve as a national officer of the ADL.

"Leslie was passionate about the ADL's mission," said Bruce DeBoskey, regional director of the organization. "There are two parts to our mission and she cared about both: to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to fight anti-Semitism, but also to secure justice and fair treatment for all. She wanted to make sure the organization was concerned about civil rights and justice for all."

Last year, Mrs. Davis was honored with the ADL's Distinguished Community Service Award.

"She was filled with pride that well into her 80s she was able to stay engaged and involved, and be recognized for 40 years' worth of dedicated service," DeBoskey said.

Mrs. Davis, who also was committed to interfaith dialogue, served as chairwoman of Stepping Stones, an organization to assist interfaith families. She co-founded, with her son, Warren, the Program for Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

In addition to her philanthropic work, Mrs. Davis and some female colleagues helped to found the Women's Bank of Denver in 1976, and she served as a director of the bank for many years.

Mrs. Davis is survived by a brother, Don Friedman, of Denvero her sons, Warren, Bruce Davis, of Assisi, Italy, and Gary Davis, of New York Cityo and four grandsons, Zachary Davis, Brett Davis, Matthew Davis and Daniel Henning.

A memorial service was Nov. 12 at Temple Emanuel. Burial was in Emanuel Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations by made to the Anti-Defamation League, Children's Hospital or a charity of choice.

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