Dr. Herbert D. Davidson

Dr. Herbert D. Davidson of Arlington, Virginia and Boca Raton, Florida died November 9, 2018 at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington of pneumonia. He was 91 years old. Davidson was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1927, the son of a Latvian immigrant who lacked a high school education. His family moved to Washington, D.C. during the Great Depression. Following graduation from Anacostia High School, Davidson completed one semester at George Washington University before enlisting in the United States Navy. He served as a medical corpsman at Bethesda Naval Hospital and was preparing to join the Fleet Marines for the invasion of Japan when the Second World War ended in 1945. Completing his military service, he returned to George Washington University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1949. He receiving admission to Georgetown University, where he earned a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree in 1953. His G.I.

Bill benefits had expired in 1949 and Davidson was obliged to work his way through four years of dental school. After completing his dental degree, he received a Master of Science in Orthodontics from Tufts University in 1955. Returning to the Washington, D.C. area, Davidson established the first orthodontic practice in Fairfax County, eventually founding offices in Falls Church, Herndon, Vienna and Oakton.

Dr. Davidson was president of the Fairfax County Dental Society, president of the Eastern Component of the E. H. Angle Society of Orthodontists, fellow of the International College of Dentists and an instructor for the Charles H. Tweed Foundation for Orthodontic Research, as well as a member of numerous other dental and orthodontic societies.

Davidson married Ann Louise Gordon in 1950, with whom he had two children. After Ann died in 1980, he met recently widowed Judy Dutton at a Potomac, Maryland Boxing Day party. They married in 1983, providing Dr. Davidson with a second family of five stepchildren and associated relatives. Following multiple attempts to retire from orthodontic practice in the mid-1990s, Davidson could often be found playing golf and gin rummy at the Washington Golf & Country Club in Arlington, Virginia, the Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland, Adios Country Club in Coconut Creek, and the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida. He found mutual trust and friendship among the many persons with whom he spent his final years.

Davidson is survived by his wife Judy, two children from his first marriage Susan D. Simpson (Glenn) and Dr. Kim Davidson-Rogers (Bruce), five step-children from his second marriage Robert Dutton, Dr. Heather Dudley (Tim), Paul Dutton (Hilary), Holly Dutton and Kimberly Dutton, seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

A visitation will be held Wednesday, November 14 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the Murphy Funeral Home, 4510 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia. The funeral service will occur on Thursday, November 15, at 11 AM at the Murphy Funeral Home, followed by internment at Columbia Gardens in Arlington. Following internment, the family will host a Celebration of Life at Washington Golf and Country Club, 3017 North Glebe Road, Arlington, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, the family invites friends to provide contributions to the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Research Moon Shot Program at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.