In Loving Memory of Joy Davidson
It is with great sadness that we report that Joy Davidson passed away on January 24, 2020. She was active in Historic Hawaii Foundation, serving as a member since 2001, on the Board of Trustees since 2015 and as the Board Secretary since 2017. Joy was a partner in the architectural firm MASON, which she joined in 2002 with a Doctorate in Architecture from the UH School of Architecture. She immediately became a key consultant in the firm’s historic preservation work. Hers was a life too short by any measure, but she departed in control of things to the end, ensuring that we would remember all the good things. She’ll always be in our hearts and we miss her.
Her colleague on the HHF Board of Trustees, Donne Dawson, shares the following remembrance.
Joy and Abundance
Joy Davidson epitomized Joy, pure and simple. She lived up to her name to the very end.
I had the honor of serving with Joy as a fellow Trustee on Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation‘s board for several years and I developed a close friendship with her that I know would have lasted a lifetime. We were kindred spirits for a lot of reasons. And I just loved her spunk. Back in 2016, Joy hosted one of our first board get togethers at her beautiful historic home in Kaimukī when we hardly knew each other. I loved the way she welcomed us all in, shared her story openly and honestly, and introduced us to her awesome dogs and adorable pet chinchilla. (Yes, pet chinchilla!) I remember Joy saying she needed to keep the dogs a safe distance away from the chinchilla—something about the animals being allergic to each other!
Joy chaired Historic Hawai‘i’s programming committee for many years with grace, energy and enthusiasm—even when I knew she wasn’t feeling well. There’s a big puka there now that she’s left us that will be very hard to fill. I tried my best to participate in the meetings and support her efforts but I missed a lot of them. Whenever I had to miss a meeting, I would text Joy and let her know work had sucked me into some new crisis and I wasn’t going to be able to break away. She never made me feel bad. In fact, she did the opposite and made sure I didn’t worry about it at all. “You gotta do what you gotta do Donne” she always said.
Joy always exuded mana wahine in all she did, a fiercely strong woman with a supernatural ability to fight the most daunting challenges, always with grace, courage and humility. Again, the operative word being grace.
This gorgeous photograph of Joy that accompanied the beautiful tribute from her colleagues at Mason architects really struck me. It’s just the perfect photo, as though rays of sunlight from Heaven are illuminating her oh so subtle smile. These rays of light cast an ethereal glow that literally make Joy shine. Hawaiians call it ano, a word that means among other things, peacefulness. Joy was at peace with her circumstances for sure.
From everything I know of her, Joy lived an abundant life despite devastating hardships that took their toll and took her from us all too soon. It’s hard to comprehend when someone so vibrant and full of life falls victim to this insidious disease. In her last email to me, she was the one giving me reassurance, even though she was suffering so deeply. I know we will all miss the beautiful mana wahine that Joy was, especially as we continue to do our part to protect and preserve Hawai‘i’s priceless historic sites and wahi pana, our storied places. Mahalo Joy for teaching us one of life’s most important lessons: it’s possible despite that greatest adversity to embrace abundance and find JOY in all things.