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Thomas Davis is fondly remembered for his passion for boating and the outdoors, as well as his warm and friendly nature.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — After an exhaustive multi-day search operation on the St. Johns River, the life of Thomas Palmer Davis was celebrated in a heartfelt memorial. Davis, aged 69, left a lasting impact on those who knew him.
Search efforts were led by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), alongside the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department and the U.S. Coast Guard. These teams scoured the waters near Naval Air Station Jacksonville ever since Davis vanished on December 14.
Davis’s boat was discovered drifting with no trace of him aboard. Authorities noted that the weather that day featured strong winds, a factor which Davis’s family believes might have played a role in his disappearance.
Will McKee, Davis’s brother-in-law, spoke of Davis’s lifelong love for boating and his appreciation of the river. Known for his affable personality, Davis was cherished by those around him. In an interview with First Coast News, McKee expressed his family’s heartfelt thanks to the first responders and volunteers who participated in the search.
According to Davis’ obituary, he was born and raised in Jacksonville.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from the School of Forestry at Virginia Tech and a master’s degree in City Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Davis lived in Brooklyn, New York, working for the City of New York’s Energy Department for three years. Then, he moved to Philadelphia and received a Master of Business Administration (Finance) from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Davis eventually returned to his hometown in the 904.
According to his obituary, “he received his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) certification and had a long career in institutional investment management with Barnett Banks, Independent Life Insurance Company, American Heritage Life Insurance Company and JEA from which he retired in 2022.”
The obituary states Davis “was an active member of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Jacksonville.”
Davis is survived by his wife, daughters, grandsons, siblings, nieces, nephews and their children.
