Sarahjane "SJ" Davidson Swanson

Sarahjane "SJ" Davidson Swanson, of Houston, passed away after a seven-year battle with cancer on Tuesday, the 10th of February 2026. She was 60 years of age. She was born in Pasadena, Texas on the 23rd of September 1965, and was welcomed into the loving arms of Richard and Betty Davidson.

From birth, SJ was a joyful force of nature. She embraced every opportunity in school, friendship, business, charity and shooting-bird hunting with total determination and a commitment to excellence that was rarely matched by her friends and associates. Her friends cherished her can do-let's have fun approach to life and counted on her compassion for personal guidance, advice, and support. SJ had hundreds of friends in all walks of life. Each one of her friends considered her to be one of their closest.

SJ earned a B.S. in liberal arts from the University of Houston, then graduated cum laude from South Texas College of Law. She served on the Texas Real Estate Commission's Broker-Lawyer Committee for two terms.

Before law school, SJ spent fifteen years in the energy business, holding management positions with two major Houston energy companies in their gas pipeline transportation and marketing groups, and U.S. and international asset management and project development divisions.

SJ lived a life devoted to her friends and community service. She was a Christian and member of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church. A few of the many leadership roles she held include alumnus of the Leadership America's Class of 2014, the past-president of the South Texas College of Law Alumni Association, member of the Houston and American Bar Associations and the American Bar Association's litigation section, member of the legal fraternity of Phi Delta Phi, member of the Association of Women Attorneys-Houston and trustee of AWA's foundation, member of the Houston Realty Coalition and Commercial Real Estate Women, 2020-2021 President of the Greater Houston Pachyderm Club, member of Village Republican Women Club and the Texas Asian Republican Club. She was very active in Republican politics, most recently serving as the Chairman of the Harris County GOP Judicial Recruiting and Screening Committee.

SJ served on the Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star Advisory Board and was matched as a mentor "Big Sister" through BBBS's community-based program for many years. In her early professional life, she was a member of the Houston Junior Chamber of Commerce, where she chaired a Consular Ball. She often served as a judge for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's Public Speaking Contest.

She was predeceased by her parents, Richard and Betty Davidson.

SJ is survived by her devoted husband, William D. Swanson; her sisters, Liz Jennings and her husband Benton, and Julie Reynolds and her husband Todd; her mother and father-in-law, Becky and Merrill C. Swanson; her sister and brother-in-law, Elizabeth and Merrill E. Swanson; and her nieces and nephews, Richard and William Reynolds, Cecelia Mays, and Travis and Caroline Swanson.

A celebration of SJ’s life is to be conducted at half past one o’clock in the afternoon on Wednesday, the 18th of March, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held in the adjacent grand foyer.

She was an inspiration to many and will be remembered and loved always.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family request with gratitude you consider a donation be made in her memory to a charity of your choice.

We invite you to take a few moments to share fond memories and words of comfort and condolence with her family by selecting the “Add a Memory” icon.