William Edward Davis

William Edward Davis (Bill), who was born on January 2, 1939, and died on March 2, 2026, lived the life of the mind and focused his love for his family and friends as the most important part of his life. Bill is survived and will be forever cherished by his wife, Molly (Mary Coady Davis). He is also survived by a large, close family, including his son Patrick (Laura) Holden and daughter Anne (Brian) Albrecht. Bill’s family included four grandchildren, John (Angie) Holden, and their children, Gia, Jonah, Rowan, and Nomi; Matthew (Sirine) Holden, Kellie Holden, and James Albrecht. Family also included Ann (John) Mahan, Tim Coady, Colleen Weisz, and Bill’s sister, Janet Bykoski and her daughter, Karen Bykoski Osborne.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Edward Goodrich Davis and Gladys Fales Davis, his son John Holden, his nephew Mark Bykoski, and other family members, including Louis Bykoski, Jacqueline Carskadon, Sally Coady, Tom Coady, and John Weisz.

Bill grew up on a small farm in northeast Ohio, near Lordstown. He was ethical, trustworthy, and dedicated to service for others. In high school Bill earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Decades later his grandson James asked his Gramps to lead him through the Eagle Scout Charge, reaffirming the commitment of all Eagle Scouts. Throughout his life, Bill volunteered wherever he could, especially in schools and his community.

Bill loved learning and always considered himself a lifelong student. Early on, “he took to learning,” as people used to say in the ‘40s and ‘50s. His first grade teacher let him borrow the school’s only encyclopedia, one letter at a time. Later, he earned a BS in physics from the then-named University of Youngstown and earned a PhD in nuclear physics from The Ohio State University.

During college and graduate school, Bill served in the United States Army Reserve. After graduate school, he joined two other partners to form a start-up business, which is now called Command Alkon.

Years later, he returned to Ohio State and taught students in the Department of Physics and the College of Engineering. Upon his retirement, the day before he turned 81, he was presented with a certificate of appreciation “in recognition of your contributions, spanning multiple decades, to the teaching mission… especially through your skilled and devoted teaching and your commitment to students [in] The Ohio State University Department of Physics.”

He often said that he hoped that his students would think, “Physics — just the underlying principles of my everyday universe. It’s why ketchup gets stuck in the bottle.” During the years, he taught and tutored literally thousands of university students.

In addition, other students of all ages, family members, and friends would say that they felt comfortable asking Bill to explain just about anything because he was someone who could understand almost any topic imaginable and many referred to him as a personal encyclopedia. In all conversations, Bill gave his rapt attention and when asked questions, he had the gift of explaining complex issues with clarity.

Bill was curious, open-minded, and unconditional. He also was skeptical, not cynical; witty, not snarky; and patient, not patronizing.

For decades, he was a member of St. Thomas More Newman Center and in his last years attended St. Josephine Bakita Church.

Bill was much beloved by his family and countless others who had the good fortune and blessing of knowing this gentle, humble, and kind man. He valued longtime friends, including his best friend, his brother-in-law Tom Carskadon.

Bill loved the magnificence of nature, in all of its ways. Two long-time friends, Gloria Davis and Inga Smith, honored Bill’s love of the cosmos by having a star named for him on his eightieth birthday. They named the star Placidus, which fits him perfectly.

The unconditional love he shared with his family and friends will be deeply missed and long remembered. At Bill’s request, the family held a private burial service.

Because of Bill’s love of learning, friends who wish might consider a contribution to The Ohio State University’s Veterinary Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund Number 607488 at: https://give.osu.edu/billdavis

If family or friends prefer to make a gift by check, they may write a check in Bill’s memory, made payable to The Ohio State University Foundation and mailed to: The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine127H Veterinary Medicine Academic Building, 1900 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210-1106.