Norman Davis, 94, Entrepreneur, Altruist And Community Leader

Norman Davis, a native of England who racked up a list of impressive accomplishments in oil, beer and the fine arts, died Aug. 11. He was 94.

Poor health had slowed him in recent years but friends and family say Mr. Davis leaves a lasting reputation as a successful businessman who helped relocate Jewish refugees after World War II and who ran the fine-arts exhibit at the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle.

"Whenever he set out to do anything, he did it so thoroughly," said one of his former employees, Bailey Naider, 69, of Seattle.

He fondly recalled the time Mr. Davis set his mind to learning how to play golf. After one week of lessons with a golf pro in California, Mr. Davis returned to Seattle with a 10 handicap.

Born and reared in Manchester, England, he lived in the Puget Sound region for 53 years.

In that time, he built up the old Heidelberg Brewing Co. in Tacoma to rival the Rainier and Olympia breweries. He also was founding president of the Seattle Jewish Community Center.

As a stalwart in the city's art community, he helped nurture the growth of the Seattle Art Museum after World War II and put together the 1962 Fine Arts Exposition.

A connoisseur in his own right, Mr. Davis also wrote two books based on his collection of ancient Greek coins, many of which have been bequeathed to the museum.

Indeed, much of Mr. Davis's life seemed to have a stamp of excellence to it.

"He was a charming man, the kind of guy who built a business by himself and ran it by himself," said his son, Charles Davis of Seattle.

As a young man, he was founder and former managing director of the Cleveland Petroleum Company in England, which once held 17 percent of the retail gasoline market in England, said his son. In the 1930s, it was sold to the Standard Oil Co.

When Europe appeared on the verge of a second world war, Mr. Davis set his sights on the U.S.

And it was the Frederick & Nelson department store that convinced him and his wife, Amelia, who also was English, to put down roots in Seattle. When they walked into the downtown store, "people there were so friendly, that he decided this was the place to stay," his son said.

They made their home in Seward Park.

Actually, Mr. Davis had come to live in the U.S. in 1914 and had gained American citizenship. But after a stint in the Army Air Corps, he returned to England to help run the family's furniture business.

The second time here he returned with money to invest. He opted to put it into Tacoma's ailing brewery.

He renamed it the Heidelberg Brewing Company and remained its president until 1958, when he sold it and retired.

Business wasn't his only interest. He preferred to talk about philosophy or the arts.

Though he had to drop out of school at the age of 13 to help support his family, he was a self-taught man who could recite poems by memory and who traveled around the world to collect ancient Greek coins, his son said.

He was the author of "Greek Coins and Cities" and "Journeys to the Past," and he was co-author of a third art book, "The Hellenistic Kingdoms," with a professor from Oxford University.

For many years, he served as a first vice president of the Seattle Art Museum and later as a member of the Board of Directors. And as director of the World's Fair Fine Arts Exhibit, he ran the only such exhibit that actually made a profit, his son said.

Because of his dignified manner and intellect, he was jokingly referred to as "Sir Norman," recalled Naider, a former plant manager at the brewery.

He was well-liked by employees because he always took a personal interest in their lives, Naider said.

"Whenever anyone had a baby, he gave them a $100 bonus," he said. "The brewery was more of a big family."

Shortly after World War II, he sponsored several Jewish refugees in their relocation to the Tacoma area and gave them jobs at his brewery, his son said.

Surviving him are sons Charles of Seattle and Gerald of Ottawa, Canada; his brother, Albert Davis in London, England; eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Services were yesterday.