Sharion Davis

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Davis, Sharion My beloved Sherry (Sharion) born September 9, 1935 to Ramona and Albert Schleunes in Marshfield, Wisconsin and passed away July 16, 2020 in Santa Fe, NM. She was the love of my life since our early days in high school in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. We graduated from the University of Wisconsin and got married shortly thereafter. Sherry graduated with honors and a B.S. degree in Home Economics. We moved to Massachusetts where she became a very loving mother and at the same time, her extensive leadership activities commenced. Through our numerous corporate moves, Sherry was able to make a difference through both her volunteer and career activities. In Saint Louis she helped plan a Saint Louis Symphony Riverboat Benefit starring Louis Armstrong. The next move was to Riverwoods in the Chicago IL area. There she became the Deerfield Chair for Ravinia, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's summer home. She also began her career teaching Child Development at Deerfield High School. Next, in Pittsford NY, she was a volunteer for the Rochester Philharmonic and taught third grade. The next move was to Manchester-by-the-Sea MA where she started The Magic Years Nursery School which exists today. Sherry taught Art and courses in Child Development at the Manchester High School and her students assisted in the activities at the nursery school. She was also very active with the Boston Symphony Orchestra where in 1976 she Chair-ed Arthur Fiedler's Bi-Centennial Boston Pops Concert. Upon moving to Minneapolis MN, Sherry started her own Interior Design Studio and became involved with large charity events at the Metrodome for the 1982 Scandinavia Today Celebrations, the 1991 International Special Olympics Games and the 1992 Super Bowl. She was on the Board of Trustees for the Minnesota Orchestra; was a Symphony Ball Chairman and Chaired Neville Marriner's final concert events in a communitywide British Festival. She was awarded a Bush Foundation Summer Fellowship to study The Ravinia Music Festival in Chicago and subsequently became Executive Director of the Midsummer Music Festival in Minneapolis. Orchestras from Gothenburg, Sweden, Baden Baden Germany and The Minnesota Orchestra performed with many other international artists including Ella Fitzgerald, Ute Lemper, The Gatlin Brothers and Harry Belafonte. During the last 12 years in the Twin Cities, Sherry moved into an Executive Development position at Minnesota Public Radio where she secured funding for national programs like Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" and Lynne Rosette Kasper's "The Splendid Table". Moving to Santa Fe, NM in 2002, retirement was not in Sherry's vocabulary! She has been on the Executive Committees of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, The Museum of New Mexico Foundation, as well as on the Leadership Team for the Santa Fe Railyard Park. She was President of the New Mexico Governor's Mansion Foundation and Chairman of the Grand Opening Gala for the New Mexico History Museum. She was on The New Mexico Grand Ball Centennial committee and on the Governor's Transition Team for Tourism and Cultural Affairs. She was appointed by Governor Susana Martinez to Chair the New Mexico Arts Commission and was Lead Trustee for the New Mexico History Museum. She Chaired "The Party of the Century" centennial gala for the New Mexico Museum of Art in 2018. The most important anchors of her life have been her husband, three children, and seven grandchildren. They are husband Jim, son Jeff Davis and Caryn Schall in Minneapolis, MN (Laura Davis, Lisa Snordheim, and David Myers), son Scott and Zsuzsanna Davis in West Hills, CA (Ryan Davis) and daughter Darcy Davis-Flagler and Richard in St. Petersburg, FL (Mackenzie, Ainsley and Breckin Smallwood). A memorial service is planned when appropriate due to the coronavirus. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the New Mexico Museum Foundation 1411 Paseo de Peralta Santa Fe NM 87501, and The Minnesota Orchestral Association 1111 Nicollet Mall Minneapolis MN 55419.

Published on July 26, 2020