Alan Stephen Davis

Alan Stephen Davis, 76, passed away peacefully at home on December 21 in Sudbury, Massachusetts, with his loving wife Kathleen by his side. Alan fought a courageous multi-year battle with cancer, always with the positive, hopeful and ever-optimistic outlook that he carried throughout his life.

Alan was an attorney and entrepreneur, having founded and run a number of companies throughout his long and varied career. He was devoted to his family and he doted on his two wonderful grandchildren. He was a lifelong fan of the Boston sports teams, especially the Red Sox, having attended his first Sox game at the age of seven with his dad. He was also an avid tennis player.

In addition to his beloved wife Kathleen, Alan is survived by his dear sisters, Roberta Davis and Gail Davis, both of Natick, Massachusetts; his cherished sons, Jonathan Davis of Los Angeles, California and Noah Davis of Seattle, Washington; his daughter-in-law Sonja Davis, Noah’s wife; and his adored grandchildren Samantha and Henry. He also leaves several cousins and their families.

Alan was born in Boston in 1945 to Maurice David Davis and Florence (Riter) Davis, both now deceased. He grew up in Brookline, attended Boston Latin School, and is a graduate of University of Massachusetts Amherst, Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his J.D. at Georgetown University Law Center where he was the recipient of the Edward Douglas White Award and winner of the 3rd Year Moot Court Competition.

Alan practiced law for a number of years before becoming an entrepreneur. His early experience included serving as Director, Energy Project, National Consumer Law Center, Inc., Boston; and Chief Attorney, Legal Aid Bureau, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland.

He practiced law in Washington, D.C. and later in Boston at Davis, Malm & D’Agostine. His representation of clients in the cable television field led to his first entrepreneurial venture, Nashoba Communications, a startup cable television company, where he was Founder and General Partner. The company won 14 franchises in Massachusetts against established competitors and was sold to Cablevision Systems in 1995.

His next venture was SANgate Systems, which developed and sold enterprise level virtual tape and data duplication products. He co-founded the company and raised over $8 million from investors. He later co-founded and personally seeded GlobaLAN, a global data network provider and integrator whose products included the first Wi-Fi system in the U.S. Later ventures included acting as President and CEO of Accell Systems, a telecommunications equipment company.

In 2010, Alan founded CapeNet LLC, a telecommunications company that was awarded a $24 million contract by OpenCape Corporation to build and operate a 350 mile advanced fiber optic network and integrated microwave overlay network on Cape Cod.

Alan was determined never to retire from business, and at the time of his death he was working on a groundbreaking company to deliver plastic replacement products derived from an organic, biodegradable organic polymer. It was his dream to provide a cost-effective product to replace many of the plastic products that persistently pollute the environment. Sadly, he passed away before this venture was brought to fruition.

Alan’s family plans to hold an online tribute to Alan’s life at a date to be announced. If you would like to receive an invite, please add your email information on this site.

Remembrances in Alan’s name may be made to The Jimmy Fund at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, www.jimmyfund.org , or to a charity of your choice.