F. Leary Davis, Jr.

F. Leary Davis, Jr. died July 20, 2017. 

Inducted into the College in 1995, F. Leary Davis died at the age of 75 from leukemia and Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He is believed to be the only lawyer-educator to serve as the founding dean of two law schools (Campbell Law and Elon Law). A veteran of the U.S. Army Reserve and the North Carolina National Guard, Davis served as a helicopter pilot and Officer Candidate School tactical officer. He earned his law degree from Wake Forest University and a master of laws degree from Columbia University. Davis was active in the American Bar Association, the North Carolina Bar Association, the North Carolina State Bar and numerous community and state civic projects. He received numerous awards and honors throughout his impressive career including the ABA’s E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award on behalf of the Professionalism Development Program, NCBA’s John J. Parker Award and the establishment of the North Carolina Bar Foundation Endowment’s Ferd Leary Davis Justice Fund. Davis is survived by his wife of 54 years, Joy, three adult children and six grandchildren.