Jane Kiely Davis

Jane Kiely Davis, a longtime Malibu resident, passed away peacefully on July 26th at the age of 93. She was born on January 19, 1931in Ithaca, NY, one of four children of Joseph and Etta Kiely. After graduating from Fairfax Hall Preparatory School in Virginia, Jane earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature in 1952 at Cornell University. She was a proud member of both the Alpha Phi Sorority and the women’s field hockey team. After college, she earned a master’s degree at Georgetown University in Linguistics in 1954. She then moved to New York City and worked for the Institute of International Education. Jane loved everything about NYC – the arts, fashion, food, opera and theater.

Jane met her future husband, Rich Davis, through mutual friends. Rich followed her to NYC, and after dating for a few years, they married on May 4th, 1957.

Jane and Rich then moved to Berkeley, CA in 1958 where, until their first of six children arrived, Jane worked at the International Student Union while Rich earned his MBA from UC Berkeley. After a brief stop in Illinois and their second child, they returned to CA in 1961, to the family-friendly community of Malibu where they would add four more children.

Jane loved the countless friends she made in the communities of Our Lady of Malibu, the La Costa Beach and Tennis Club, youth sports, along with bridge and volunteer gardening at the Adamson House Museum. She also loved doing the Merl Reagl Sunday crossword puzzle. Jane’s other hobbies included her own garden, the Los Angeles Opera, LACMA, piano playing, tennis and later in life, golf and Sudoku. She liked capping off the weekend with a family dinner serenaded by her favorite musician, Roger Miller, or later in life, dining at Tramonto or V’s where she was treated like “The Queen of Malibu’.

She and Rich, often with friends, visited six continents and hundreds of cities, from the charming dust of Baja, the sweltering humidity of southeast Asia, to European river boat cruises and Wimbledon. During these decades of travel, her passion for education and equality for all, particularly for those less fortunate or displaced, would reach new heights.

During her last years, Jane cherished being surrounded by family, particularly her eleven grandchildren.

Jane is preceded in death by her daughter Sarah (1999), and her husband, Rich (2017). She is survived by five children (Gregory, Timothy, Stephen, Maria, and Daniel), eleven grandchildren (Bryan, Dylan, Katya, Tyler, Dalton, Sarah, Collin, Nolan, Brooke. Luke, and Samantha), and 3 step-grandchildren (Jack, Noah, and Barrett).

A memorial Service will be held on Saturday, August 31, 2024, at 12pm, at Our Lady of Malibu Catholic Church, 3625 Winter Canyon Road, Malibu, CA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the American Indian College Fund.