BU to Hold Memorial Service for Former SHS Principal, Dr. Daniel Davis

Energetic; passionate; dedicated—those are just some of the words students and colleagues have used to describe , a former teacher, social studies department head, and principal at Stoughton High School, who , while on a teaching mission in India.

Davis was 70.

“To say that everyone loved him is not hyperbole,” Jane Ko told the BU Today website.

Davis retired from SHS following the 2003 school year, and joined the faculty at the Boston University School of Education, where he advised many students, including Ko.

Well respected by the community—current Social Studies department head John Gallivan said Davis, his predecessor, was a “Renaissance Man”—Davis also made his mark at BU, where he encountered a number of students who went on to be social studies teachers at SHS.

Hardin Coleman, the Dean of the BU School of Education, told BU Today about how some students wore “I love Dan Davis” signs on their caps at last May’s graduation ceremony.

“[Davis] swept you up in his enthusiasm for teaching and let you know that you counted as a person,” Coleman told BU Today.

Davis’ students threw him a surprise 70th birthday party last February, and served his favorite beverage—orange juice with plenty of pulp, according to BU Today.

“It was Dan’s limitless energy and enthusiasm, coupled with his deep passion for history and politics, that transformed generations of [BU School of Education] students into exceptional teachers,” Brooke Feldman, one of his former BU students, told BU today. 

Born in 1941, Davis grew up in Coney Island, NY, went to college at Owego University B.A., Brooklyn College M.A., and Ohio State University for his Ph.D., according to the Boston Globe’s obituary.  Davis came to Stoughton High in 1973. He authored texts on Asian History and U.S. History, post World War II.

Davis is survived by his wife of 48 years, his two children, four grandchildren, and sister. He was cremated in Udaipur, India, according to the Globe’s obituary.

Boston University will be holding a memorial service on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 10:45 a.m., at the school’s Marsh Chapel. A reception will immediately follow. Current Stoughton High principal Matt Colantonio said a large group of Stoughton High faculty plans to attend.

Donations in Davis’ memory will be accepted at: The Dr. Daniel Davis Scholarship Fund, Stoughton High School, 232 Pearl Street, Stoughton, MA 02072.

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To view Dr. Davis' obituary, click here; to view his memorial blog on the BU website, click here; and to read the BU Today article in its entirety, click here.