Evelyn Y. Davis, Queen of the Corporate Jungle, Dead at 89

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Evelyn Y. Davis, 89, died peacefully, Sunday, November 4, 2018, at Washington Medical Center. President of the Evelyn Y. Davis Foundation, Davis was a philanthropist, successful investor, financial skeptic and defender of shareholder rights in calling for boardroom accountability on behalf of publicly owned companies.

The daughter of the late Herman H. DeJong, M.D. and Marianne Witteboon DeJong, Davis was born August 16, 1929 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, as she self-described, "on the wrong side of the ocean but the very right side of the tracks."

Davis immigrated to Baltimore, Maryland, during World War II with her brother, the late Col. Rudolph H. DeJong, M.D., to join their father, a distinguished neurologist, who taught at Johns Hopkins University. She graduated from Catonsville (Maryland) High School in 1947 and attended Western Maryland College and George Washington University before beginning her legendary investing career.

From 1965 until 2011, Davis published "HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS," an annual newsletter that covered the Washington scene; corporate governance; executive compensation; location and dates of corporate meetings; as well as the issues and votes on numerous shareholder proposals.  She owned stock in more than 80 corporations in varied and diverse industries, and regularly attended shareholder meetings throughout the United States, beginning in 1959.

During her career, Davis was featured in many newspapers and magazines and frequently appeared on many national television programs including CNBC "Nightly Business Report," NBC "The TODAY Show," and other programs on CNN, and Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. She lectured on corporate governance issues at Babson College, Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, Penn State's School of Journalism and many other venues.

A four-time divorcée with no children, Davis formerly resided at Watergate East, where she served on the co-op's Finance Committee and maintained her office at the Watergate Office Building. 

Davis will be laid to rest in historic St. Paul's Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C. and memorialized at a private service at St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C.

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SOURCE Evelyn Y. Davis Foundation