Obituary of Patricia Davidsen

Pat Cain Davidsen, community activist, artist, business woman, and matriarch, died Saturday, January 29, 2011 after a long battle with cancer. She was 65. Born in Albany, NY, to John Cain and Jane (Kieley) Cain, she was raised in Phoenix, AZ, but returned to Albany after the death of her father, and graduated from the Albany Academy for Girls. She married William Davidsen in 1963. She was the editor and publisher of the Stockade Spy newsletter of the Stockade Association for six years, and she and her family restored their home in the Stockade neighborhood after a fire. In 1978, the family restored another Victorian home, and moved to the College Park area, where she was active in the Barrett St. Neighborhood Association, and then president of the College Park Neighborhood Association. She was active in local quality of life issues such as the Seward Place beautification project, and well known to local officials for coming to City Hall in person if officials were slow to return her calls. In 1979, she founded TMR Associates, a local computer consulting firm, which she continued to run until her illness. She was an insurance broker, and worked for several local firms, including the Lawrence Group. A finalist as a student in the national Hallmark Art Contest, she continued painting and drawing for the rest of her life. She regularly organized family trips, and took three or four generations of her family to various parts of the country, particularly her beloved Phoenix, and Belfast, ME. She is survived by her husband, William E. Davidsen, Jr; her daughters, Erika Ditmars and Leonora Davidsen; son-in-law, James Thorwarth and his son, Nicholas; grandchildren, Amy, Kevin, and Scott Ditmars; and longtime friends and caregivers, Jean Nielson, Susan Brownell, and Steve McKiernan, all local residents. A lifelong gardener, Pat believed that flowers belonged in the garden. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Estherville Animal Shelter, 100 Russell Road, Greenfield Center, NY 12833 or Community Hospice of Schenectady, 411 Union St., Schenectady, NY 12308. Funeral service, Wednesday morning, 8:30 from the Daly Funeral Home, Inc., 242 McClellan St., Schenectady, and 9 at St. Paul the Apostle Church where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated. Calling hours, Tuesday afternoon, 3 to 7 p.m. in the evening at the funeral home. Interment, St. Joeseph's Cemetery, Schenectady.