James Dewey Daane

James Dewey Daane, born on July 6, 1918 in Grand Rapids, Michigan to Gilbert Leonard Daane and Mamie Blocksma Daane passed away on January 3, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. Dewey is also preceded in death by siblings, Gilbert Warren Daane and Elizabeth Marie Davidson; and nephew, G. Warren Daane, Jr.

Dewey is survived by his wife of 54 years, Barbara Daane, children; Elizabeth Marie Daane Mallek, Elizabeth Whitney Daane and Olivia Quartel Daane, grandchildren; Brent James Mallek (Kelly), Gregory Scott Mallek (Bethany), Ki-Lin Daane Black and Daane Williamson Reische, great-grandchildren; Daane Wesley Mallek and Emily Rose Mallek, nieces and nephews; Mary Davidson Twist, Dorothy Davidson Sellers, Ellen Elizabeth Ashley, Robert Berry Daane (Holly) and Charles Daane (Elizabeth), and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews.

Dewey was a graduate of Duke University (BA, 1939) and went on to receive his Master’s and Doctorate in Public Administration from Harvard University’s Littauer School, now The Kennedy School of Government. He holds the unique distinction of being Harvard’s first Doctor in Public Administration. Monetary and fiscal policy and the Federal Reserve System were his first loves, beginning in 1938 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Virginia where he spent twenty years until moving to Washington, D.C. to serve as Deputy Under Secretary of the Treasury for Monetary Affairs. While at the Treasury Department, he caught the eye of President John F. Kennedy who ultimately appointed him as a Governor of the Federal Reserve Board in 1963. His proudest moment was the hour he spent with President Kennedy before his appointment in November 1963, shortly before the President’s death, making him the last of his major appointees. Dewey ultimately served under four U.S. presidents, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon and went on to advise on economic policy during the Reagan administration as an advisor to the Congressional Budget Office.

In 1974 Dewey and family moved to Nashville, Tennessee where he was Vice Chairman of the Board of Commerce Union Bank and a professor for 42 years at the Owen Graduate School of Management. He loved advising and guiding the careers of his students, especially those from overseas (OWIBA) as well as those in the Executive MBA program…students from Greece, Taiwan, India, Colombia (to name a few!) became regular fixtures at holiday celebrations in the Daane home. He also served as a public director to both the Chicago Board of Trade and the National Futures Association and as a director of the Whittaker Corporation, a multi-national company based in Los Angeles, from 1974-1989. Until his death, Dewey was a regular contributor to both the Wall Street Journal’s monthly and USA TODAY’s quarterly economic forecast surveys. He would sit at the breakfast room table with newspapers strewn far and wide with his mechanical pencil scribbling indecipherable figures for Barbara to interpret, type and fax!

There are so many stories about Dewey…unbelievable, inspirational and humorous all at once. In spite of his remarkable career, his total devotion to the Federal Reserve System and the world economy, he never took himself too seriously. He described himself as “affable and artless”. A man with a wry sense of humor and sweet humanity, Dewey was liked by everyone. He had a way with people and collected them from every walk of life. Everyone was interesting to him, and he collected new friends everywhere he went…on airplanes, in airports, on street corners, basically anyone that sat down next to him! His great love was tennis, anywhere…anytime. Winter or summer he carried his racquet on all of his international trips and would find a game in the most unlikely of places. He loved swimming in his beloved Elk Lake in Elk Rapids, Michigan where, even after a traumatic drowning experience a few years ago, he continued to swim! Singing hymns and Broadway show tunes was a daily occurrence, one never knew when he and Barbara would burst into song! One of the few things that he could not do well was dance, but he was an enthusiastic aficionado of the “Michigan Shuffle” and gets an “A” for effort! He was tenacious, brave, and a stubborn Dutchman. He loved his family beyond words and was mostly concerned with their well-being, especially when he became ill. A connoisseur of beautiful things: art, music, china, crystal, delicious food and men’s suits (all gray). He loved to travel and shop in all of his destinations and for many years was in charge of Barbara, Whitney and Olivia’s wardrobes! Dewey had very specific ideas about interior design in that the longer he had owned it, the better it became. The only change that slipped by him in 54 years was the repainting of his den’s ceiling in red…he was not pleased!

He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Delta Tau Delta fraternity, The Bretton Woods Committee, The Exchange Club of Nashville, The Round Table, The Matt Wigginton High Level Economic Conference and The Belle Meade Country Club. When asked at a party who he would like to come back as in his next life, his response was, “I’d like to be me all over again!” It was an extraordinary life well-lived. Ninety-eight years is not enough. He will be missed forever.

Ronald J. Mallek, Brent J. Mallek, Gregory S. Mallek, Daane W. Mallek, William F. Forrester and George Doupsas will serve as pallbearers.

Weaver C. Barksdale, Dennis C. Bottorff, James W. Bradford, William G. Christie, Douglas Cruickshanks, Jr., Brownlee O. Currey, Jr., T. Aldrich Finegan, Luke M. Froeb, William L. Harbison, M. Eric Johnson, The Honorable Donald Kohn, Vince Melamed, James L. McGregor, William E. J. McMann, Jr., Charles Nelson III, David C. Parsley, Billy J. Rigsby, R. Bruce Shack, John F. Stein, Hans R. Stoll, John Walsh and The Honorable Paul A. Volcker will serve as honorary pallbearers.

Visitation will be held on Friday, January 13th, 2017 from 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. at St. George's Episcopal Church. Funeral Service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Friday at the church.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Dewey Daane Scholarship at Owen Graduate School of Management: Vanderbilt University, Park Center Recovery from Mental Illness, St. George’s Episcopal Church in Nashville, Duke University, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, First Presbyterian Church in Elk Rapids, MI, Alive Hospice Nashville.