Nérida Varela Davidson

Nérida del Rosario Varela Plá Davidson, a classically trained artist, dedicated educator, devout Catholic, and beloved matriarch, passed away peacefully Sunday morning 6 September 2026, one month and a day shy of her 101st birthday.

Born October 7, 1925 in Matanzas, Cuba, Nérida was the second child of businessman Alberto Varela and his wife Coralia Plá y Espada. Along with her older sister Coralia (“Nenita”), Nérida attended the Convent of Mary Immaculate, an all-girls’ boarding school in Key West where she developed a distaste for soup and once waved to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as he drove by in his motorcar. Her lifelong passion for the arts began at the prestigious Academia de San Alejandro in Havana, but she ultimately relocated to the United States and became one of the first Cuban-Americans to graduate from Miami Senior High School in 1945. She pursued her artistic passion by attending the Richmond Professional Institute of the College of William and Mary where she obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1949.

After marrying her college classmate, John Watt Davidson, on June 15, 1950, the couple converted a historic 120-year-old carriage house on their family’s horse farm in Wall Township, New Jersey into a shop where they sold their art and textiles. In the mid-1950s, they relocated to Palm Beach and established Jack Davidson, Inc., an interior design business.

Beginning in 1963, Nérida transitioned into a fulfilling, decades-long career in education. She inspired generations of students at The Benjamin School in North Palm Beach then at Miami’s Immaculata-La Salle High School, Hialeah Junior High, and Miami Coral Park Senior High, from which she retired in 1993. She also volunteered as a docent for Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in Coconut Grove and for The Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami.

As an artist, Nérida chose to "paint flat," creating primitive-style pieces full of color and character. Though she once mused that modern art can feel fleeting, "like a cube of sugar in a river,” her own artistic legacy thrives in the homes of her family.

She is survived by her children, John A. Davidson (Annett) of Germany, Maya Davidson (Susan Pfister) of Connecticut, and Liliana Davidson (Don Duffy) of West Palm Beach, Florida. She also leaves behind her cherished grandsons, Joshua Brisbine of West Palm Beach, David Tower II (Alexandra) of Maryland, Antonio Davidson, and Benjamin Davidson both of Germany; her nieces and nephew, Tatjana Martinez, Raul Martinez (Maria Esther), and Ana Martinez Kuhn (Jeff); her great-niece and great-nephews, Oscar Fernandez-Quevedo, Daniel Martinez (Ana), and Tatjana Eversun (Eduardo); and her eight great-great nephews.

Thank you to Discovery Village staff for their decade long care and concern and to the Jasmine Team of Hospice for their expertise and help.

In lieu of flowers, please take yourself to a local museum and enjoy some art!