Tom Edward Davis

Tom Edward Davis, 93, of Ithaca, NY, died peacefully at Kendal of Ithaca on October 27, 2022.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Patty Elwin Davis; his parents, David Edward Davis and Edith Larson Davis of Akron, Ohio; and his brother, Gerald Larson Davis, also of Akron.  Tom is survived by his two children; Derek E. (Rebecca) of Katy, TX, and Heather L. (John Peters) of Asheville, NC.  Tom’s four grandchildren are Brandon P. (Shauna) of Katy, TX; Ryan A. (Joelle) of Atlanta, GA; Simon Davis Tobias of Hendersonville, NC and Aron Davis Tobias of East Lansing, MI.  Tom also has two great-grandchildren: Mackenzie M. and Kyle P. of Katy, TX.

Tom was born in Akron, Ohio in 1929 and grew up during the Great Depression.  He graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University in Medford, MA, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950 and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.  He earned a Master of Arts degree and a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1956.

Tom married Patricia Elwin, a Tufts classmate, in 1953.

He joined the faculty at the University of Chicago in 1956 and served there as an assistant professor of economics until 1963, when the family relocated to Ithaca, NY where Tom joined the Cornell faculty as a tenured associate professor of economics. In 1967, he was named chairman of the department of economics at Cornell.

The economic development of Latin America was Tom’s area of special interest.  He served as chairman of the editorial committee of the Latin American Research Review, and worked under fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the Fulbright program, and the Agency for International Development.  As a consultant, Tom worked with the Foreign Area Fellowship Program, the Latin American Research Review Board (as chairman) and the Office of Education in the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.  At Cornell, he was director of the Latin American Program for many years, beginning in 1965.

Tom was adored by his loving family and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.  The family would like to express heartfelt appreciation to the Kendal social work team, the skilled nursing team in the Cayuga neighborhood and the Cascadilla assisted living team at Kendal for their expert and compassionate care of Tom.

Memorial contributions may be made to Finger Lakes Land Trust at 202 E. Court St., Ithaca, NY 14850.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Bangs Funeral Home. Online condolences may be made to Tom’s family at www.bangsfuneralhome.com.