John Spencer Davis ’43

Spence died June 15, 2007, at age 85 of complications from a stroke in East Hampton, N.Y., where he lived full-time since 2003. He was an investment banker in Washington for more than 50 years, living in Bethesda, Md., and part-time in the East Hampton home he and his wife, Sarah, bought in 1960.

Spence was born in Nanking, China, where his father, John Ker Davis, was U.S. consul general. His family escaped China during the 1927 nationalist uprising. He lived in Korea, Poland, Norway, and England while his father was a diplomat. He prepped at Lakeside School in Seattle. At Princeton he majored in SPIA, was intercollegiate badminton singles and doubles champion in 1941, and belonged to Cloister Inn. He enlisted in the Navy during World War II and saw action during two years on LST-693 in the South Pacific.

Spence married Sarah Kimball in 1944. They settled in Washington after the war, and he entered the investment business. He retired from Morgan Stanley as senior vice president at age 80. He was a commercial pilot and flew his twin-engine Cessna 310 to East Hampton or Vermont on weekends and holidays.

He is survived by Sarah; his sons, John

Jr., Christopher, and Tracy; and four grandchildren.