Mary Jane Davidson of Helena passed away on Wednesday, December 19, 2018, at the age of 92 following a brief illness.
She will be remembered as a major benefactor of the arts having recently been honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Holter Museum of Arts in Helena. She was also a major supporter of the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Helena. One of the ceramic works in her personal collection was included in a recent showing of the work of Archie Bray Resident Artist Director, Steven Young Lee, at an exhibition of ceramic arts at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. For many years she funded scholarships for student artists at the Bray Foundation as well as scholarships for students at Montana Tech in Butte. She was a 50-year member of PEO an educational charity.
Mary Jane Davidson was born in St Paul, Minnesota on January 14, 1926. She graduated from Johnson High School in St. Paul. She later graduated from the University of Minnesota with honors in physical therapy. She trained under Sister Elizabeth Kenny whose unconventional treatment for polio survivors led to today’s innovative rehabilitation therapy methods.
She married Dr. Jack Davidson in 1947. They first lived in Helena where Dr. Davidson was a physician at the VA hospital at Fort Harrison. Subsequently he established a medical practice in Butte where he and Mary Jane lived until they separated in 1995 at which time Mary Jane moved to Helena.
Mary Jane was an active skier and tennis player well into her eighties. She was a devoted follower of professional tennis great, Roger Federer, and often attended tournaments where he was playing.
Mary Jane is survived by her daughter, Karen Davidson (Steve Olson) of Bernice; son Griff Davidson (Kim) of Butte; granddaughter, Lacey Jayne Davidson of Big Timber; Harley Davidson (Amanda Duran) of Bozeman and her longtime friend, Ross Cannon of Helena. She is predeceased by her husband, Jack Davidson; a son William Owen Davidson and her parents, Edith and Henning Johnson.
A celebration of Mary’s life will be from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Saturday, January 19, 2019 at the Holter Museum of Art, 12 E. Lawrence Street, Helena. In lieu of flowers contributions in her name can be made to the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, 2915 County Club Avenue, Helena, MT 59602, the Holter Museum of Arts, 12 E. Lawrence Street, Helena, MT 59601 or the Butte Silver Bow Archives, 17 W. Quartz Street, Butte, MT 59701. Please visit www.retzfuneralhome.com to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Mary Jane.
