Corene Davidson

The family of Corene Milstein Davidson, lovingly known by her grandchildren as “Ghee”, wish to announce the peaceful passing of our mother at the age of 98. A “terrific ride” as she herself quoted.

Corene Marilyn was born to Hy and Ceil Milstein of St. Paul, Minnesota, May 1, 1926, the oldest of two siblings including her late sister Reve Greenberg of Lake Charles. Corene grew up in the St. Paul / Minneapolis area, attended the University of Minnesota, and through family connections, moved to Houston, securing a job as office manager for a private detective agency. Corene married Simon (Si) Davidson in 1949 after meeting each other at a family wedding event on Catalina Island, and began their lives together in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Si eventually took over the reins of his dad’s business, Davidson Louisiana, Inc., while Corene quickly became interwoven into the community of Lake Charles.

Corene and Si would build a family of 6 children in Lake Charles, 3 boys and 3 girls: Marc, Sandy, Kim, Joel, Jody and Judy. Corene would state in one of her many poems, “little did I know what I had in store!”. And indeed, the journey was amazing until her last breath. Si and Corene celebrated 67 years of marriage before Si’s passing in 2017, and shared the love of 9 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren.

Corene grew up active in sports: tennis, ice skating, and golf. Golf would become her passion, and, with an amazing handicap, she consistently frustrated Si as well as her family playing against her in any course outing – she typically won! Corene was a member at the Lake Charles Country Club, where she held numerous board positions. She was an active member and officer with the LCCC Ladies Golf Association, as well as a member of the Ladies Golf Association (LGA). She would accumulate countless tournament wins in her playing days, and would proudly showcase her awards to family and friends.

Corene was most connected to her Jewish faith and was strongly active in the local Jewish community as well as at the national level. She represented the local Jewish community through the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods (now known as Women of Reform Judaism), and participated as an advocate for numerous national initiatives. She was a past president for the Temple Sinai Sisterhood, a Sunday School teacher, and was passionately involved with what would be her love, the choir.

Corene supported her children in their activities and associations as a Bluebird and Campfire Girls leader, Cub Scout Den Leader, and countless “be-there-mom” for the exponential number of activities for 6 kids, including, but not limited to, baseball, basketball, football, track, swim team, cheerleaders, golf, and more.

Corene was a passionate advocate for the disadvantaged and abused, serving as an Outreach Center volunteer and counselor for ETC, including parent-child mediation (a program started by her son Jody), and as a rape crisis counselor.

Corene was “Ghee” to her grandchildren, named affectionately by her first grandchild Tevya. Nothing in this world gave her more pleasure than to be with them: at games, recitals, birthdays, and eventually, weddings. And yes, she not only knew just about every detail of their childhood, but may have known more than their parents!

The family will remember most her love of music. She developed her passion for Broadway and theatrical musicals as a theatre / playhouse usher. Her children would later remember a home filled with the music of Ira and George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and countless other American Songbook artists. She loved her showtunes, camp and folk songs, and of course, her choir standards. Until the day she passed, she could remember almost complete song lyrics, and sing them proudly! Her son Marc would recognize that it was her love of melody that contributed to his songwriting.

Most important to the Davidson family, as we remember our mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, she was our North Star.

“So, thanks to the man above – he certainly gave me a lot to love.” (from poem by Corene Milstein Davidson, May 1, 2016)

Corene is survived by her and Si’s children: Marc Davidson (Pattie) and their children Aaron and Drew, Sandy Desadier (Ronnie) and their children Tevya (Matt), Hydee (Ryan), Kayla (Josh), and Mindy (Adel), Kim Davidson-Ruby (Pete), Joel Davidson (Jan) and their children Joseph (Chelsey) and Gina (Jeremy), Jody Davidson (Paige), Judy Katz (Bruce) and their children Ben (fiancee Lacy) and Sarah, plus 15 great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Temple Sinai of Lake Charles.

Special thanks to our amazing caregivers Karen Lominac, Nancy Holcomb, Karen Fowler Miller, Beverly Mason, Ann Baldwin and her niece Rynita, and Dee Baldwin. The family also wishes to extend our gratitude to the special care provided by Erica Doucet, Cassandra Jones, and Lisa Piatt of St. Joseph Hospice.

A celebration of Corene’s Life is being planned by the family for friends and community. A private graveside service will be held separately. Words of comfort may be shared with the family at www.hixsonfuneralhomes.com