May 27, 1930 – July 14, 2014
Beloved Uncle of Linda, Wendy, Barbara, Suzanna, Cynthia, and James; Great Uncle, (emphasis on the great) of Gabrielle, Allyson, Jennifer, David, Adrienne, Lisa, Diana, Jeremy, Sedona and Lexington; Great Grand Uncle of nine others, all of whom he knew and cherished. Predeceased by his dear sisters Anna, Janice, and Claire.
How we will miss our champion of all the arts!
The family wishes to acknowledge the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Hugh’s other family in Victoria, all his extended family in Canada, the United States, Britain and Switzerland and his numerous friends and colleagues in arts communities across Canada. We mourn the passing of a passionate, brilliant man who created a life of magnificent variety and beauty in work, relationships and spiritual searching. He has been our guiding light. The family is grateful for the excellent care Hugh received during his last months of illness from Zig Hancyk, his doctors and the staff at the Royal Jubilee Hospital. Hugh’s vast friendship network was a source of loving inspiration and connection for him.
A service of remembrance will be held in Victoria, BC, at St. John the Divine Anglican Church on Tuesday, August 5th, at 2 pm, reception to follow at the Victoria Art Gallery at 3:30 pm. All of Hugh’s friends are welcome. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Victoria Foundation Hugh Davidson Fund or an arts organization of your choice. Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Bros. Funeral Directors
28 Responses
I met Hugh many, many years ago in Ottawa and I had a great admiration for him. He helped me, as a pianist, and I was and still am very grateful to him. for some reason i lost contact with him when he moved back West and i feel so unhappy not having met him in years.
I am very sad to hear about by his passing and I send his family my heartfelt condolences.
My friendship with Hugh stemmed from his interest in politics and his love for Victoria. He contacted me in my role as a member of Victoria City Council and my interest in the arts and that led to many memorable conversations and tea dates. Hugh’s commitment to the arts and his extraordinary joie de vivre were a constant source of inspiration to me and I will carry that inspiration with me in all of my future endeavours.
I will miss him greatly. A thoughtful, clever, creative human being whose curiosity, aesthetic sensibilities and enthusiasm for life never dimmed.
I will greatly miss his support – and challenging questions – in the upcoming election.
I will treasure the memory of our road trip to Port Renfrew, where we breakfasted on the terrace of a restaurant, drove on to Lake Cowichan and picnicked in Cowichan Bay. With Hugh driving we were home by 3:00 on the afternoon!
I can’t begin to tell you how much I will miss Hugh. Many of my colleagues at the Victoria Symphony will speak about his financial contributions, both to the orchestra itself and toward the commissioning of compositions, his time on the Board, and his encyclopedic knowledge of repertoire that made him an invaluable member of the artistic planning team. But I will take the most delight in remembering just how much he loved music. He was such a sweet presence in the hall when the Victoria Symphony was either rehearsing or performing, and I will continue looking out into the hall for him in the years to come. I remember when Rostropovich died, I heard about it during rehearsal (no doubt from one of many smart phones in the brass section) and when I told Hugh at the break, his response was to cross himself (like a good high Anglican) and say “Well done, good and faithful servant.” That last statement was my first thought when I heard of Hugh’s passing. His was a life well-lived indeed.
Robert Fraser
Bass Trombonist, Victoria Symphony
Hugh was a dear friend to us and a loving big brother to our friend Claire. How lucky we were to end up living in the same town, where we shared many happy occasions together. Our loving sympathy to all the Davidson family.
Greetings family and friends of Hugh Hanson Davidson.
Hugh was an extraordinary mentor and friend, and we weep together at his passing. My favorite Hugh-ism is ‘c’est le ton qui fait la musique’ – it’s the tone that make the music! Hugh was dedicated to supporting harmony in the world and generating artistic pleasures for mankind. I imagine Hugh now an Angel finally finding the time to finish his promised symphony for God, leading a choir of Angels and commissioning some Angel painter to depict the scenery of Heaven. We will all miss him terribly.
The Canadian arts community, especially in Greater Victoria, has suffered a great loss in the passing of this dear man who devoted his entire life to the arts, especially music, and was himself a creative artist.
He will be profoundly missed.
Patrick
We will miss our dear friend, and cherish the memories of Hugh’s wit and humour at dinners, afternoon teas, picnics and parties. He will remain in our hearts as an inspiration, and an example of what can be good in this world.
Ian and I send our most loving thoughts to Hugh’s family and friends in saying farewell to this remarkable man. ‘Uncle Hugh’ was known for his generous sharing of his wisdom and wit. Many years ago he came out to help a local candidate in the federal elections. We were touring french immersion schools without a lick of French! Uncle Hugh accompanied us and acted as translator, facilitator and general bon vivant. He remains in my memory sitting in a small child-sized chair making jokes en francias with an elementary school class. No doubt, they were talking art, and possibly even politics.
He was well-loved and will be missed. He is gone, but we get to keep his light. Love to all.
Warmly, Vicki McLeod – Maple Ridge BC
Condolences indeed. We must all be grateful that he so emphatically made the world a better place by living in it.
`From 1967, our paths crossed many times, both professionally and personally. Charlotte and I shared many wondrous times in Toronto, Ottawa, London and Vancouver. But most wondrous of all were the many exchanges between Petawawa and Davidson.
Hugh was “one off” and will be missed by us all.
Jim