Obituary of Monroe R Davis

MONROE R. DAVIS MONTICELLO, NY Monroe R. Davis, decorated Marine officer in World War II and long time fixture in Sullivan County politics and legal affairs died January 4, 2006 after a short illness. Born in New York City to Sam and Anna Davis on January 9, 1914, he moved to Woodridge early and remained a resident of Sullivan County for the rest of his life except for two years he spent attending Middlebury College on an athletic scholarship, earning letters in baseball and football, and three years attending Fordham University Law School in New York City. Returning to Sullivan County, he married Esther Patashnick, his high school sweetheart to whom he was to remain married for 65 years until her death in 2003. He had recently opened a law practice in Woodbourne when the United States entered World War II. Enlisting in the Marines he earned a commission and served in the Pacific Theater. He was awarded a Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, and a Purple Heart. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserve at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. At the close of the War he returned to his wife and a daughter who had been born shortly after his enlistment. He resumed the practice of law, first in Woodridge and later in Monticello as a member of the firm of Cooke & Davis. During the ensuing four decades of practice he served at various times as Town Attorney and Councilman for the Town of Fallsburg, Village Attorney for the Village of Woodridge, member of the Fallsburgh School Board, County Leader and State Committee Member of the Democratic Party and a member of the Ethics Committee of the State Bar. He was campaign manager for Lawrence Cookes successful bid for election as Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, then an elective office. Mr. Davis prominence as a gadfly and fighter against those whom he believed abused the public trust was offset by a very private life of philanthropy and generosity to charities and to persons in the community who were in need. After retiring from his law firm, he resumed a curtailed private practice which he continued until he was 85. He remained active as an elder athlete skiing until after his 90th birthday. Mr. Davis is survived by two daughters, Susanne Cohn an artist living in Jersey City , New Jersey, and Amy Troyani who resides and teaches in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and his son, Stanley Davis a business executive who resides in Sanbornville, NH. He is also survived by four grandchildren: Emily and Joshua Davis, and Sara and Laura Troyani. Funeral Services will be held on Sunday, January 8, 2006 at 11am in the Joseph N. Garlick Funeral Home Inc. 388 Broadway Monticello. Burial will be in the Woodridge Synagogue Cemetery Marsh Rd. Glen Wild, NY.