Obituary of Cutter Davis

Cutter D. Davis Cutter Dickinson Davis, age 72, died on November 4th at Carolina?s Medical Center in Charlotte after a 3-year battle with melanoma. Born July 6, 1940 in Kingston New York, he moved back to Charlotte with his mother after his parent?s divorce in 1949 and attended Myers Park Elementary, Alexander Graham Middle School and Myers Park High School, where he graduated in 1958. He then attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1962. While at Chapel Hill, he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity and was a letterman all four years on the track and field team, where he threw the javelin. He returned to Charlotte in 1962 where he has resided since. Cutter worked immediately after college for Proctor & Gamble and subsequently, First Union National Bank. Cutter then moved in to real estate investments in 1971 where he was self-employed for the balance of his career. Cutter owned, developed and managed apartments in Eastover and Myers Park, as well as in Wilmington NC and Sumter SC. Over the years, Cutter converted over 35 apartment projects to condominiums with various family partners. He was always well-liked by his numerous tenants, who enjoyed talking with him as he often performed light landscaping work in his suit and tie. Cutter enjoyed several hobbies and was an avid collector of art and antiques. He was also a highly accomplished and self-taught artist, sculptor and furniture maker. Perhaps as a way of closely connecting with his broad interest in early American history, Cutter created an extensive body of intricate artistic works over his adult lifetime, exceeding 200 various ornate carvings, sculptures, paintings and individual pieces of furniture. And he continued this work literally until he could not physically carry on. Cutter also loved researching genealogy, travelling and eventually tracing family roots as far back as the late 1600?s in New England. And he delighted in spending quality time with family and friends over the years at his homes in Charlotte and Linville, and also on the Maine and NC coasts. He was a loving husband, brother, father, grandfather and uncle. He had lifelong friends from his earliest years in Kingston NY and from growing up in Charlotte. Those friendships simply expanded from his time at Chapel Hill, and he remained in close contact with all of them through the years. At his core, he was a light-hearted optimist who loved people and the pursuit of individual and professional creative interests. He was unconventional if not eccentric, and every bit out of the ordinary, which was one reason people were so drawn to him. Anyone that knew him recognized this endearing attribute to his character and personality. He is survived his wife of 31 years, Rebecca Reynolds Davis. He is also survived by his son, Cutter Dickinson Davis Jr. and wife, Greta of Charlotte; son, Coates Middleton Davis; brother Burton Sparling Davis Jr. and wife Jean; sister Camilla Davis Turner and husband Bob, all of Charlotte; three grandchildren Phebe Hanna Davis, Cutter Dickinson Davis III and Wesley Anderson Davis, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother, Mary Anne Cutter Davis Jones and stepfather Leander of Charlotte, and his father Burton Sparling Davis and stepmother Helen of Kingston New York. The family would like to extend their sincere appreciation to Dr. Asim Amin of the Levine Cancer Institute and Dr. Stuart Burri of Southeast Radiation Oncology Group for their dedicated care and counsel over the years of his illness. On Saturday November 10th, a private family interment will be held at the family mausoleum at Elmwood Cemetery in downtown Charlotte, followed by a Memorial Service at 1:00 pm at Christ Episcopal Church on Providence Road. The family will then receive friends at Cutter and Becky?s home at 601 Museum Drive. Memorials may be made to Christ Episcopal Church, 1412 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC 28207 and to the Levine Cancer Center c/o Carolinas Health Care Foundation Inc., PO Box 32861, Charlotte, NC 28232.