Chase Alumni Association

 

Robert Noel “Jim” Davies, who specialized in Trusts, Estates and Private Banking during a 40-year career at Chase Manhattan, died on January 23, 2026. He was 89 and living in Falmouth, MA. 

 

Davies was born in Dallas, Tx, in 1939. When he was just a year old, his father – an accountant for International Harvester – was sent to Australia to oversee operations in the Australasian region. The family spent the next 11 years living in Melbourne, and frequent steamship travel between Australia and the United States gave the young Davies an early exposure to the wider world.

 

During World War II, Davies lived with his grandparents in Dodge City, KS, where he later graduated from Dodge City High School. A standout athlete, he played on the Dodge City High School golf team from 1950 to1954 and won the Kansas State Golf Championship as a senior in 1954, beginning a lifelong passion for the game.

 

Davies went on to attend the University of Kansas on a Naval ROTC scholarship, earning a BS in Business in 1958. He played on the university’s golf team and served as captain during his senior year. After graduation, he served three years in the U.S. Navy, including two years aboard the USS Cassin Young. He completed his service as a Lieutenant Junior Grade in Washington, D.C., where he worked as an Assistant Navy Exchange Officer in the Supply Corps.

 

While in the Navy he participated in President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inauguration, opening the car door for First Ladies Mamie Eisenhower and Jacqueline Kennedy. That same year, he met Judith Delaney, Miss Michigan, while serving as her assigned by height military escort at the Cherry Blossom Festival. They married on February 2, 1963, beginning a partnership that would last 44 years until Judith’s passing in 2006.

 

After leaving the Navy, Davies joined Chase Manhattan Bank, retiring in 2001. He completed an Executive Program at Columbia University’s School of Business and served as President of the New York State Bankers Association Trust Division in 1978. 

 

An avid golfer, Davies was a long-time member at Baltusrol Golf Club, served on numerous championship committees, and won the Senior Club Championship. He was also a member of the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda and Jupiter Hills Golf Club in Florida, and served in leadership roles with the New Jersey Golf Association, South Florida Golf Association and the Doral Eastern Open.

 

A devoted wine enthusiast, Davies was a longtime member of the New York chapter of La Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin and served nationally as its Chef du Protocole.

 

Davies was also involved with several charitable foundations, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City and Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Chatham, NJ.

 

After the death of his wife, Davies shared his life for 13 years with a partner, Margaret Luntz, who passed away in 2020.

 

Davies is survived by a daughter, two sons and four grandchildren, as well as his sister.