Harvey Davison

Harvey Davison, age 88, of Wayne, passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, July 25, 2021. He was cherished by his children, grandchildren, and family, and lived his life devoted to them.

He was born in Newark to Irving and Ethel Davison. Harvey graduated from Weequahic High School in Newark, Class of 1950, where he played on the basketball team and was given the nickname Dave (short for Davison). He continued his education at Temple University in Philadelphia where he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology with the Class of 1954. After graduation Harvey enlisted in the Army and over the years has shared stories with his family of the time he served in Germany.

When he was honorably discharged from the Army he returned to live with his parents in Newark.  He met and married Phyllis Klein and was blessed with four children. A son Bruce, who was born on Harvey’s 27th birthday, and three daughters Sheri, Susan, and Ilene.

Harvey worked with his father at Rose Dairy in Newark and then joined his in-laws family owned business, Keil’s Bakery in Newark. Harvey had a strong interest in computers. He eventually attended night school to further his education after which he left the bakery to work as a computer programmer. He was in high demand in his field mostly for his ability to find solutions where it seemed that no one else could. He worked for J. Wiss and Sons, Goody Corporation, Red Devil Corporation, and American Cyanamid Corporation. He was also heavily recruited as a consultant. Although consulting would have been more lucrative, he chose a more stable path  with American Cyanamid in Wayne to better provide for his family. He worked at American Cyanamid until he retired in 1995.

Harvey will be remembered for his love of animals, especially dogs. Throughout his adult life he always had at least one dog, often more than one. His love of animals was evident to all who knew him. Although he was not overly social, he couldn’t help but stop to talk to anyone in the neighborhood who had a dog with them, or who came up to meet any of his dogs. Once he connected with the neighbors they became friends who would often meet up to walk and talk together.

Harvey enjoyed vegetable gardening and loved to cook which helped him when he became diabetic. He learned on his own how to prepare food with ingredients that would not raise his blood sugar without sacrificing the flavors he enjoyed. Harvey often questioned conventional medicine and would research his and his family’s maladies to find alternate solutions. When he was diagnosed with glaucoma, doctors told him that he would lose his sight in his 40’s. He refused to accept that prognosis without doing his own research. He developed a game plan that doctors said was futile, but trusted his own findings and still retained his vision until the end of his life. When he was diagnosed with diabetes, he was able to maintain blood sugar levels in the normal range by doing the same as he did for the glaucoma. His doctors were so impressed with his results that some even asked him to do classes for other diabetic patients. He was always so proud of that.

Most of all Harvey loved his family and enjoyed spending time with them. If they shared a problem with him, he would try to find a solution. Even if he did not always have the solution, he would listen if they just needed to talk. He included his children in the things that he enjoyed, such as going to lunch, running errands, and watching the Yankees, Giants, and Hallmark movies on TV. He was self-taught in guitar and piano and shared with his children, and later his grandchildren, his favorite country songs such as “Froggy Went A Courtin”. He had a curiosity about the supernatural and his family got to share in his enthusiasm when he attempted to hypnotize them. Even though it never worked, some pretended it did to make him happy. It was a fun time usually ending in laughter, and as long as his family was happy, Harvey was happy.

Harvey is survived by his son Bruce Davison and wife, Julie of Hubertus, WI, his daughters Sheri Lynch and husband, Keith of Wayne, Susan Yale-Mancini and husband, Rick of Wayne, Ilene McFarland of Basking Ridge, and his grandchildren  Rachel, Justin, Grace, Hanna Rose, Jimmy, Eddie, Ricky and his wife, Jessica, Billy, and Stephanie. He was also survived by his sister Judy, her husband, Ken, and his brother Phil.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Friends of Wayne Animals (FOWA) PO Box 3701 Wayne, NJ 07470 or through their website https://fowarescue.org/