Robert P Davison

Mr. Davison built a career as a nationally recognized expert in mineral law at the Denver firm of Holland & Hart before retiring at 55 and going into newspaper publishing, ranching and farming. He helped establish the Community College of Denver, served for six years as mayor of Cherry Hills Village and was a generous donor to the Denver Zoo. Mr. Davison was born Feb. 14, 1921, in Montgomery, Ala. With an interest in geology, he scouted around for colleges and listened when an acquaintance recommended the Colorado School of Mines. He graduated in 1943 as a geological engineer. He went to law school at the University of Colorado, choosing it over an Eastern school partly because of his health. He went to work at Holland & Hart after graduating at the top of his class in 1950. As a captain in the Army Reserve, Mr. Davison was called up during the Korean War and worked for a time on the then-secret nerve gas production at Rocky Mountain Arsenal before shipping out to Korea until 1952. From 1960 to 1966, he served three terms as mayor of Cherry Hills Village. He served on the board of directors of Torchmark Insurance Corp. from 1968 to 1991, Mesa Fiberglass Corp. from 1973 to 1987, and QED Oil Co. from 1980 to 1990. Mr. Davison retired from the practice of law in 1976, but life stayed busy. He bought a farm near Samson, Ala. He also bought a ranch outside Elizabeth. And he bought the Telluride Times newspaper and began investing in the mountain town in southwest Colorado. In addition to his wife, Mr. Davison is survived by two sons, Robert P. "Rudy" Davison III, of Durango, and Thomas Davison, of Enterprise, Ala.; a daughter, Nancy Wyman, of Cherry Hills Village; and four grandchildren. Another son, John W. Davison, died.