DAVIS, Judith March

Published by The Daily Courier on May 13, 2026 - Prescott, Arizona - Judith March Davis of Prescott, Arizona, died peacefully and painlessly in her home at Prescott Village on 4/26/26 at the age of 97. A published author, Judy was the only child of Dorothy Rowe, a writer, and Benjamin F. March, an authority on Asian art. Reared in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Judy spent her childhood summers in the resort village of Pentwater, Michigan. She enjoyed two years at Oberlin College, and later earned a BA degree in art history from the University of Michigan. In recent years Judy became a member of the Professional Writers of Prescott. In 2010 she published “Pagoda Dreamer,” a biography of her mother who grew up in China. Judy’s memoir “The How of Then,” was published in 2019 when she was 90. Early in her first marriage to James D. Gamble, she won a nationwide kitchen design contest and was a delegate to a national “Women’s Congress on Better Living.” The mother of four children, Judy lived 20 years in Traverse City, Michigan, where she was a journalist and later executive director of the regional Arts Council. She and her husband helped to establish the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Grand Traverse, in which she held leadership roles. Among civic contributions, Judy chaired the city’s Human Relations Commission. Following a divorce, she moved to New Jersey, where, in 1981, she married Ethan I. Davis, a Prudential executive. For six years she worked as a senior staff writer for the Rutgers University News Service and then as Director of Public Relations on the Newark campus. For many years, Judy and Ethan traveled widely in Europe and Asia. In 1996, they moved to Prescott, where they helped to found Granite Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation. Judy facilitated worship, led workshops, sang in the choir, and coordinated the Care Team. For Northland Cares, the Prescott agency that serves those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, she was board secretary, president, clinic coordinator and office volunteer. In 2010, Northland Cares honored Judy as the first non-medical professional to receive the Dr. Samuel Downing HIV Community Impact Award. She also volunteered at Sharlot Hall Museum and sang in the Community Chorale. In 2011, Judy and Ethan moved to the Independent Living wing of Las Fuentes Retirement Resort. After Ethan’s death in 2014, Judy stayed on in their attractive apartment until 2019, when health issues prompted her to move to the Assisted Living wing. A broken leg necessitated her move to long-term care in Prescott Village in 2021. Judy was preceded in death by a son, Scott Benjamin Gamble, who drowned at age 9. Judy is survived by two daughters: Jenny Smith (Pager) of Hawaii and Gretchen Hopkins (Peter) of Alaska; a son, Christopher Gamble (Dorothy) of Michigan, a step-son Bruce Davis of Arizona; eight remarkable grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Ethan Davis left this tribute to his wife: “Judy will be remembered as a supportive mother whose lasting love for her children transcended differences and distance; as a caring companion who enriched the last half of Ethan’s life; as a steadfast friend who nurtured relationships wherever she lived; as a lover of the arts; and as a resilient realist who accepted the challenges of aging. Never one to cry “Why me?” she was a positive role model for younger people and was profoundly grateful for their help in her later years.” Friends are invited to join Judy’s family in celebrating her life on Sept. 10 at 3 p.m., with the Granite Peak UU Congregation, 882 Sunset Ave., Prescott. In her memory, hug a child, plant a tree, visit a museum, adopt a pet, write a letter — and sing. Information provided by the family.