Michael B. Davis, 4 March 2011

[Miss Philicia]

Michael was a long time member of the Long Term Survivor support group I've attended monthly since 2006 here in Philadelphia.  In fact, you may recall the article about HIV and aging that was in New York Magazine last year that caused a bit of drama on the forums here.  Michael was one of the men photographed and interviewed in that article.  He will be truly missed here in our local HIV community, and his premature death at the age of 48 is heartbreaking and shocking.

link

Michael Davis, formerly of Morristown, N.J., passed away on Friday, March 4, 2011, in New York at the age of 48. He lived outside Easton, Pa. A wake will be held on Friday, March 11, 2011 from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Burroughs, Kohr & Dangler Funeral Home, 106 Main St., Madison, N.J. An informal memorial gathering will be held at 12 noon on Saturday, March 12, 2011, in space kindly provided by the Durham Evangelical Lutheran Church in Durham, Pa. Mr. Davis graduated from Morristown High School and received his B.A. from New York University and his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. At NYU, he was a champion diver, the captain of the diving team and co-captain of the swim team. He later won medals in springboard and platform diving in international competitions. At Fordham Law, Mr. Davis co-founded a student organization to focus on legal issues affecting gay and lesbian people. Ten years later, the group inaugurated an annual award named for him and his co-founder. He served as a diving teacher and coach for high school and college teams, including Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. Mr. Davis also served on the Open Space Committee of Springtown, Pa., and helped organize opposition to the expansion of landfills and worked to preserve farmland and undeveloped woodlands for future generations. He worked for SAGE, a pioneering social service organization for lesbian and gay seniors in New York; acted as a volunteer facilitator for HAVEN, an LGBT youth support group in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, and organized programs for the Silver Foxes, LGBT seniors in Philadelphia. Mr. Davis is survived by his mother, Marian (Pra) Davis, of Morristown; his sister, Kathleen Davis, of Lawrenceville, N.J.; his brother, Edward Davis of New York City; his niece, Marissa Davis, of Bensalem, Pa., and his great-nephew, Kismet Michael Davis Brame. He is also survived by his step-mother, Patricia Davis, of North Caldwell, N.J.; his step-sisters, Erika Smith of Mercer Island, Wash., and Michelle Mellion of Swansea, Mass.; his nephew, Matthew Smith; his nieces, Esther and Hannah Mellion, and many loving relatives and friends. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to HAVEN or the It Gets Better Project. Details will be available at the funeral home and memorial.