Dr. Richard L. Davis Celebration of Life
20 May 1932 to 6 August 2026
Memorial Service Recording
Letter to Family / Eulogy
Our father wrote this letter to us in 2005, it was used as the basis for his eulogy:
Though I am not feeling particularly morbid, I have been doing a good deal of thinking about how I would like things to proceed after I die.
If my spirit is with you, so be it. But not my body. I consider my body an empty shell wihout that which gave it life and allowed it to interact with the world and humanity. Alive it served me well and gave me much joy. The visions of people, nature, and man-made edifices, of the sky, of mountains and oceans – all gave me wonder and great pleasure. The sounds, also gave me much to bring join, especially music and the subtle whispers of nature and the voices of creatures and speech, so wonderful and communicating at so many levels. Smell and taste, of good food and drink, of lips and other parts, oh so good! An touch, ah such variety and so many ways giving pleasure and joy! Yes, my body ahs been good to me and I love it, but without life, it has no meaning. So cremate it and cast it into the sea to recycle to other life.
As for a memorial service. Simple. I want lots of music, which I love.
And I would like to have the choir. They are moving and meaningful to me.
I would very much like to have my children take part in whatever way they choose. And, if they are old enough, some words from my beloved grandchildren would be lovely. If participants from UCSF, the Neuropath Association , and some of my students could be found, I would like that. And, of course, UUSM which has been a source of strength and satisfaction to me for so many years would be very good.
And have a good party afterwards.
I have been so fortunate. I had wonderful and imperfect parents who taught me most of what was needed to get on in life successfully. Some of their lessons were negative – I found out what not to do, but that is most important. I had a good education mostly by dedicated teachers, some of whom live on in my heart and mind to my death. Life dealt me good hands; I had a profession that I loved, and was able to purse a specialty that was immensely rewarding; I can truly say that I can’t imagine having done anything else than what I did.
I have been blessed with a special loving family; a wife and companion who kept me in live most of the time, and who shared enough of my loves so that we had great times together. She also was a wonderful mother to our special and wonderfully different children. And to each of them, thank you for your love and for your differences. Your special separate ways have delighted me and sometimes frustrated me, but also kept teaching me. And your special gifts, your children, also so different and each special. I don’t know ho much of their lives I will get to witness and participate in, but so far I have loved it. May they grow to give you all continued joy and pleasure.
I guess the joy of growing older has been that I have continued to learn and grow; with the added time available, growing and learning have been even more possible and in more varied ways not that I am not burdened with keeping up with the details fo my professional life.
Hey, its been a good life. I hope to have a whole bunch of more years, but no matter. Its been good.
Obituary
SF Chronicle Obituary. … NOTE – links for flowers and planting a tree were NOT part of the obituary :(
Our father, Richard L. Davis died peacefully 6 August 2026 surrounded by his children. He lived and enjoyed his 94 years of life, was grateful for every day he had, and was content as his health failed and he knew his life was coming to an end. He had a chance to say goodbye to some close friends and family members and was lovingly supported by his Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo (UUSM) community. A Celebration of Life will be held at UUSM on October 3 at noon (full details at https://disabilityalmanac.com/rld).
Richard (Dick to his friends and colleagues) was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 20 May 1932. He graduated from North High School, then attended the University of Minnesota, receiving his BA in 1953, and a BS and MD in 1956.
He interned at the Third Medical Division of Bellevue Hospital in New York and returned to the University of MN, Department of Pathology for graduate training. He received an NIH fellowship for further training at the Neuropathology Unit, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC, 1960-65. He performed his service in the US Navy from 1961-1969, rising from Lieutenant to Commander and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal.
Dick met Anita Jane Brinckmann, then serving in the WAC at Walter Army Reed Medical Center, in a very fortunate encounter at the Officer’s Club in Washington, DC. This led to a lifetime together from their marriage in 1964 until her death in 2021. They had three children and eight grandchildren Steven with Eleanor Lewis (Clara and Geoffrey), Pamela with Todd Bakar (Eric, Brian, and Nicole), and Lara with Guido Davis Del Piccolo (Clelia, Amalia, and Patrick De’Mon).
All of his grandchildren were a source of great delight to him, including Eric’s wife Kassi.
After fulfilling his commitment to the Navy, Dick accepted a position as Associate Professor of Pathology at the University of Southern California (USC) and served as Director of Neuropathology at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. While at USC he was active in the Faculty Senate and was made full professor in 1978. He moved to the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) in 1980 and spent a year of sabbatical (1987) in London, U.K., in the laboratory of Professor Peter Lantos.
In his professional life as Dr. Davis, Dick was a respected neuropathologist who retired emeritus as Director of Neuropathology and Professor of Pathology at UCSF in 2000. Dr. Davis was among the leaders in his field in the areas of disease description and preliminary classification. He was co-author on over 150 scientific papers and edited the three editions of Textbook of Neuropathology with David Robertson, of Queen’s University, Kingston, Ont. Canada. It was the first major text in neuropathology by North American authors.
Dr. Davis was active in several professional organizations, particularly the American Association of Neuropathologists (AANP). He served AANP as Secretary-Treasurer from 1964-1972; Vice-president for Professional Affairs from 1972-1980, and as Vice-President from 1981-82. He was also the Moderator of the Diagnostic Slide Session of that group from 1981-94. He received the AANP’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 1998. He loved neuropathology and teaching, particularly at the graduate level.
Dick and Anita were members of Neighborhood Church, in Pasadena, CA, where he served on the Board of Trustees. They joined UUSM in 1980 after they moved to Hillsborough. Dick served on the UUSM Board with terms as Vice-president and President and on the Committee on Ministry. He was a devoted member of the Men’s Steak Night group. He was also active in the Pacific Central District of the Unitarian Universalist Association and served on the PCDUUA Board including two terms as President. Dick was a generous supporter of a local charities including Samaritan House, Second Harvest, and Homework Central in San Mateo.
Dick and his beloved wife Anita were passionate world travelers; they visited 27 countries, every continent, sailed all the oceans, and have been north of the Arctic Circle and South of the Antarctic Circle.
While contacting friends and colleagues after his death, we heard many stories about how he had touched their lives both personally and professionally. Thinking ahead to his death with a characteristic lack of sentimentality, in 2005 Dick wrote a letter to his children that expressed both his satisfaction with his life and hopes for his remaining time:
“I guess the joy of growing older has been that I have continued to learn and grow… Hey, it’s been a good life. I hope to have a whole bunch of good years, but no matter. It’s been good.”
