Deane C. Davis

American politician

Deane Chandler Davis (November 7, 1900December 8, 1990) was an American attorney and insurance executive from Vermont. Long active in Republican politics, he is most notable for his service as the 74th governor of Vermont from 1969 to 1973.

Deane Davis was born in East Barre, Vermont, on November 7, 1900, the son of Earle Russell Davis (1867 1945) and Lois Salome Hillery (1870 1952). Earle Davis was an attorney who served as state's attorney for Washington County and county probate judge. The younger Davis attended the schools of Barre, and graduated from Spaulding High School in 1918.

A Republican, Davis served in local offices including member of the city council and city attorney. From 1927 to 1928 he was Washington County State's Attorney. From 1931 to 1936 Davis was a judge of the Vermont Superior Court, having been appointed to fill the vacancy created when Warner A. Graham was appointed to the Vermont Supreme Court. As a leader of the party, Davis also attended numerous state and national conventions as a delegate, including the 1948 Republican National Convention. In the 1930s Davis practiced law in partnership with Stanley C. Wilson, F. Ray Keyser Sr., and J. Ward Carver. In 1940 Davis left private practice to become general counsel for the National Life Insurance Company. In 1943 he was appointed a vice president of National Life. He was named president in 1950, and served as chief executive officer from 1960 to 1966. From 1966 to 1968 Davis was National Life's chairman of the board.

From 1957 to 1959, Davis served as chairman of a state commission that reviewed the organization and functions of the state government (a "little Hoover Commission") and proposed modernization and reforms in a report to the Vermont General Assembly. In 1968, Davis decided to continue that work by running for governor. His candidacy was out of the ordinary because he ran at a relatively advanced age, and because he had not served the usual "apprenticeship" of previous successful Republican nominees for governor. In the general election, Davis prevailed over Democrat Leo O'Brien Jr., who was a member of the Vermont Senate. His governorship was particularly noteworthy for the creation of a state sales tax to help balance the state budget.

In his retirement he authored three books, including 1980's Justice in the Mountains, 1982's Nothin' but the Truth, and 1991's Deane C. Davis: An Autobiography.

Davis died in Berlin on December 8, 1990. He was interred in Barre's Elmwood Cemetery.

In 1924, Davis married Corrine Eastman (1901–1951). They were the parents of three children— Deane (1925–1929), Marian (1927–2014), and Thomas (1931–2017). In 1952, Davis married Marjorie Phyllis Smith Conzelman (1904–2003).

In 1957, Davis received the honorary degree of LL. D. from the University of Vermont. The award is sponsored by Vermont Business Magazine and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. The Vermont Morgan Horse Association created the Deane C. Davis Memorial Award in his honor. The Davis Award is presented annually to a person who has a history of promoting the Morgan Horse, but may have made their contribution quietly and steadily over a long period of time. Another, the Deane C. Davis Papers are part of the Vermont Historical Society's Barre History Collection.