February 13, 2021
In Memoriam: William R. Davis, Esq. ’52 & ’91Hon.; PC trustee emeritus, prominent attorney
By Charles C. Joyce
William R. Davis, Esq. ’52 & ’91Hon., Providence College trustee emeritus whose personal and professional lives were characterized by selflessness and concern for others’ well-being, died on Monday, Feb. 9, at age 90.
Nowhere were those traits more evident than to associates and friends at PC and at RisCassi & Davis, P.C., the Hartford, Conn., law firm Mr. Davis co-founded and served as a deeply respected and nationally renowned personal injury attorney for 65 years.
A friend to PC for life after earning his bachelor’s degree in social science with magna cum laude honors in 1952, Mr. Davis was one of the College’s leading benefactors, yet gave in so many other ways to his alma mater. He was a platinum Torch Bearer in the 1917 Society and a member of the Harkins Society. He and his late wife, Doris O. Davis, established the William & Doris Davis Scholarship Fund in 1985 to assist needy Hartford area public high school students who attend PC.
He also supported the College’s strategic operations at the highest level, serving as a member of the Board of Trustees from 1992-2002 and being named trustee emeritus shortly after he left the board. He served on the PC Corporation as well.
Aside from all these contributions, his legacy is likely best recognized through the naming of Davis Hall, an apartment-style residential complex that houses nearly 350 students on campus. The building was dedicated in October 1994 and named for Mr. and Mrs. Davis, in recognition of longstanding support to the College.
His dedication to his clients and his associates at RisCassi & Davis — a civil litigation trial firm where he was renowned for treating everyone like family — was legendary, according to colleagues, including PC trustee John Houlihan ’77, managing partner at the firm. When not trying cases involving personal injury or, on a larger scale, class-action suits involving corporations, Mr. Davis took a deep, earnest concern in educating, mentoring, and advising future and established attorneys throughout Connecticut and even nationally.
Beginning in 1970, he taught trial practice courses at the University of Connecticut School of Law for more than 20 years; he was a 1955 graduate of the law school. His passion for those law degree candidates inspired colleagues at RisCassi & Davis to fund and name a trial practice courtroom bearing his name.
“Bill was a gracious and thoughtful man … a true gentleman,” said Joseph P. Brum ’68 & ’18Hon., PC special assistant to the president for development projects, who knew Mr. Davis for approximately 40 years.
Mr. Davis demonstrated his affinity for the College repeatedly as both a benefactor and an alumnus, giving whenever and wherever there was a need, added Brum. Mr. Davis was a “go-to guy” whenever Brum approached him about providing support for infrastructure projects. He helped fund such projects as the construction of St. Dominic Chapel, the Smith Center for the Arts, and the Concannon Fitness Center, as well as the renovation of Dominic House.
Yet, Mr. Davis never sought recognition or the spotlight, said Brum.
“Even though he had a national reputation professionally and was a man of significant means, he was so humble. He did things quietly, behind the scenes,” Brum said.
Mr. Davis was honored several times by the College. In addition to being presented an honorary doctor of civil law degree in 1991, he received the Hartford Alumni Club Outstanding Alumnus Award, the PC 75th Anniversary Diamond Torch Award, and the St. Dominic Society Award.
Brum also noted that Mr. Davis befriended PC alumni who worked in Connecticut as judges and attorneys. “He was a mentor to so many of our alums there. He was revered by them,” he said.
Houlihan saw firsthand the keen interest Mr. Davis showed others in their profession, not just their law firm, but throughout Connecticut, and to a larger extent through lectures and presentations, nationally. he pair worked side-by-side for 42 years, as Mr. Davis hired Houlihan not long after he had worked at RisCassi & Davis as a law clerk while in law school. Beyond the Hartford area, Mr. Davis was well known across the state of Connecticut, largely for his long& service to and association with the Connecticut Bar Association. He also was highly regarded nationally, being listed in the field of personal injury litigation in The Best Lawyers in America annually since 1989.
“He lectured and interacted with attorneys regularly, and they were always seeking his advice,” said Houlihan, who was promoted by Mr. Davis to managing partner at RisCassi & Davis in 1993.
“He would talk to some of them for hours, and he never turned anyone down,” he continued. “He was remarkable and completely giving. I couldn’t have found a courtroom with both hands if not for Bill. He just demonstrated to us what to do … by the way he behaved, how to treat clients, how to prepare for trials. You knew the right things to do.
“Sitting next to him (in the courtroom) was the ultimate experience. It will never top anything I do,” said Houlihan. He estimated the two tried “hundreds” of cases together.
Their relationship on a personal level was “special,” too, he said, adding Mr. Davis shared his “heartaches and success” with him regularly. “When my dad died when I was 26, Bill was the first person I called. He was just like a father to me for 42 years. I am the luckiest lawyer in Connecticut.”
It helped that Mr. Davis and Houlihan had similar interests. They shared a love of PC, baseball, and “old-timers” sports talk. Mr. Davis ran lots of marathons and got Houlihan interested in recreational running.
Mr. Davis cared deeply about the people at the law firm and their well-being, and he was not afraid to share personal moments and “let us be a part of his life,” said Houlihan.
“You couldn’t out-run or out-think him. Everything he did was decent, kind, and compassionate,” he said.
A native of Waterbury, Conn., Mr. Davis is survived by a son Russell J. Davis, and daughter-in-law, Susan; four stepchildren, eight grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. In addition to his late wife, Doris O. Davis, he was the husband of the late Joanne Gleason. He was predeceased by two daughters, Carolyn Davis ’79 and Alyce Davis Knapp.
Calling hours will be held on Monday, Feb. 15, from 4-7 p.m. at the Molloy Funeral Home, 906 Farmington Ave., West Hartford. Friends and family may gather and social distance for a walk-through visitation. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, Feb. 16, at 10 a.m. at The Church of St. Timothy, 1116 North Main St., West Hartford. COVID-19 restrictions on masks and capacity will be in place. A private burial service will follow.
A celebration in Mr. Davis’s memory will be held later in the year.
mr. davis’s obituary
