Donald C. Davidson Sr.

(Editor’s note: Coming in Dean Shalhoup’s column in the June 6 Sunday Telegraph: Additional highlights of Don Davidson’s life and various careers, plus tributes from people who knew him, and photos from over the years).

NASHUA — Donald C. Davidson Sr., who at age 24 became an Eastern Airlines pilot and went on to lead its flight operations division while also serving as a Nashua alderman, board president and mayor whose second term included Money Magazine’s selection of Nashua as the “most livable city in America,” has died.

Davidson, who turned 82 in April, died Friday morning at the Community Hospice House, according to his son, Donald C. Davidson Jr.

The cause was complications resulting from his 21-year battle against prostate cancer, his son said.

Services are scheduled for Thursday, beginning at 10 a.m. with the family receiving guests, followed by the funeral at 11 a.m.

Additional details will be included in Davidson’s obituary, which will be posted to www.nashuatelegraph.com in the near future.

Davidson leaves his wife of more than 58 years, Pauline “Chip” Davidson of Nashua, whom he met at a dance in 1960. The couple married in November 1962.

Besides his elder son, Davidson also leaves a younger son, Daniel Davidson of Merrimack, and a daughter, Donna Clarkson of Nashua.

“Don was very dedicated to Nashua,” Mayor Jim Donchess said today. “He grew up in Nashua, and he loved the city.”

That dedication to serving his hometown is evidenced by the numerous elected and appointed positions Davidson held over the years, Donchess noted.

“He was a ward alderman, alderman-at-large, president of the board … and was an interim mayor before he was elected mayor,” Donchess said.

Davidson was also a longtime member, and head of, the Nashua Airport Authority, Donchess said, adding that he served twice as a Nashua fire commissioner: First from 2001-03, and most recently from January to August 2020.

Another of Davidson’s many pursuits was his hobby of collecting and restoring antique cars, which he often entered in vintage car shows and drove in parades.

For a man who enjoyed driving, and for whom keeping a full calendar was a way of life, Davidson, from 2010 to last August, worked as an “automobile relocation specialist” for the Audi-Porsche and Tulley Buick BMW dealers, a part time gig that consisted of driving new vehicles between dealerships or swapping them out.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.