Rev. Thomas Richard Davis Jr. P鈥�85 鈥�88
The Rev. Thomas Richard Davis Jr. P鈥�85 鈥�88, Skidmore鈥檚 chaplain emeritus and a retired faculty member in religion, died on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, following a lengthy illness. He was 90.
Davis joined Skidmore in 1966 as Skidmore鈥檚 chaplain and a tenure-track faculty member in religion, teaching courses on Judeo-Christian ethics, contemporary religion in the United States, addiction, and other topics. He retired as an associate professor in 1996. Then-President David Porter bestowed upon him the title of chaplain emeritus in recognition of his dedication to the College.
During more than three decades of full-time service, Davis was a voice of comfort and reassurance, presiding over memorial or funeral services for 34 Skidmore faculty members, as well as over countless joyous occasions, including the weddings of 67 students and the children of three College presidents.
Former Dean of Student Affairs Frances Hoffmann described the essential and constant role Davis played in navigating challenging moments on campus and his 鈥渟ensitive, unselfish, and caring support of students and staff alike鈥�: 鈥淢y first instinct in many of the difficult situations we have encountered has been to 鈥榗all Tom,鈥欌�� she wrote in 1982.
Davis also challenged Skidmore to address important issues facing the community, both on and off campus.
鈥淚f there was ever a danger of forming a Skidmore 鈥榖ubble,鈥� Tom would be the first one to burst it," said Professor of English Emeritus Terence Diggory. 鈥淭om demonstrated a religious commitment grounded in the concerns of this world. He worked passionately, both on and off campus, for reproductive rights, and he led a student support group for recovery from alcohol addiction. My first experience with Tom was in a session for new faculty that he held at his home to introduce us to a pocket of poverty close to Saratoga Springs.鈥�
In the late 1960s, Davis was involved in establishing the Higher Education Opportunity Program at Skidmore. He played a role in launching Skidmore鈥檚 Employee Assistance Program in 1978 and founded the recovery group for alcohol and drug use in the 1980s. An advocate for women鈥檚 reproductive rights, Davis served on the national board of Planned Parenthood, which he discussed in the book 鈥淪acred Work: Planned Parenthood and Its Clergy Alliances鈥� (2006) and the Netflix documentary 鈥淩eversing Roe鈥� (2018).
鈥淭om Davis was committed to community service and carried this spirit of concernful engagement into the classroom,鈥� said Professor of Philosophy Reginald Lilly. 鈥淗is remarkable listening skills made him a teacher who could guide students to broadened perspectives and nuanced sensibilities.鈥�
In retirement, he continued to teach and served in interim ministerial roles through the United Church of Christ. Skidmore鈥檚 current director of religious and spiritual life, Parker Diggory, said Tom also mentored her.
鈥淚 am so grateful for the precedents he set as chaplain: that our approach should be ecumenical and multireligious, that advocacy and action on topics of social concern are absolutely the business of religious life, and that chaplaincy is about collaboratively supporting the whole person regardless of religious belief,鈥� Diggory said.
Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1934, Davis graduated from Dartmouth College, completed a Master of Divinity at Union Theological Seminary, and earned his doctorate at Duke University.
Survivors include his wife of 22 years, Linda Davis; his children, Tommy Davis 鈥�85 and Miriam Davis-Doern 鈥�88 (James Doern 鈥�87); his grandchildren, Lillian Doern, Benjamin Doern, Samantha Davis, and Talia Davis; and his step-grandchildren, Liam DeGeorgio, Madison DeGeorgio, AJ Gutierrez, and Sam Gutierrez. His first wife, the Rev. Betsy Morgan Davis, died in 2001.