Corinne T. Davis

Corinne Terry Burge Davis, formerly of Carmel, California, died on September 2nd in Denver, Colorado. Corinne was born on November 24, 1928, in Pacific Grove, CA to Floy Learned Burge and Walter Martin Burge; Her father was a salesman with Standard Oil whose promotions in the company took the family to Burlingame, California, when Corinne and her stepbrother, Robert Burge, were young and to where the family remained until the mid-1950’s.
As a teenager, Corinne rode horseback and participated in activities at Burlingame High School. After graduating, she attended San Mateo Junior College and was employed by Standard Oil before marrying Kenneth N. Davis, Jr. in 1950. While living in the Bay Area and then in Bakersfield, Corinne and Ken had two daughters, Cynthia and Barbara. A rising IBM executive, Ken’s work led to the family to move from California to New York in 1954 and later to Potomac, Maryland, where they had their daughter, Robin. In 1962 the family moved to Pound Ridge, New York where Corinne lived until 1981 when she and Ken were divorced. With each move, Corinne’s impeccable sense of style led to lovely, gracious homes. She was also the consummate hostess, with an engaging presence that well-served her husband’s career as a senior executive at IBM and during his position in the Cabinet as Assistant Secretary of Commerce. She was active in the community and volunteered for the Bedford Central School Board, the Pound Ridge Democratic Party and was a founding member of PRUP, Pound Ridge United for Planning, the first organization in Pound Ridge to raise awareness of the importance of planning for conservation in the town. She later obtained a certificate in floral design from the New York Botanical Gardens and worked at Happy Home Flowers with her friend of many years, Mary Jane Russell.
After her divorce, Corinne returned to her beloved Monterey Peninsula, making Carmel-by-the- Sea her home. Once again, she used her talents as a floral designer and a “people person” in a variety of professional and volunteer positions in the Carmel community. In 2000 she moved to Denver, Colorado to live the rest of her life near her daughter, Robin. While living in the Denver community of Carriage Place, she developed a tight-knit cadre of wonderful friends whose youth and affection gave her immeasurable joy.
Corinne often expressed her unbridled pride in her daughters and their husbands: Cynthia Learned Russell and John Keith Russell; Barbara Beth Davis-Pappas and Steven W. Pappas, MD; Robin Terry Haugland and Edward (Ted) Haugland. She adored her two granddaughters, Morgan T. Davis Pappas and Alice Terry Vickers, and her new grandson-in-law, Noah Vickers.
Please feel free to make a donation in her memory to a charity of your choice. Corinne volunteered her time, talent and kindness to nonprofits involving animals, services for the vulnerable, and programs that allowed children to fully experience the arts.

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