Shirley Anne Davis

Shirley Anne Davis, known to most as Kit, passed away peacefully Tuesday morning, July 7, 2026, at the age of 95.  She is survived by 3 children, John (Chip) Mathieson, Bruce Mathieson and Terry Mathieson, and 4 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.

Kit grew up alongside the ocean in New Jersey, which shaped her life.  Her teen jobs included exercising horses, and she was one of the few female lifeguards at the state’s largest saltwater pool.  She was active in high school with the school paper, art club and sports, and she was a cheerleader.  She later attended University of Missouri and became a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.  It was at university that Kit met and married John Mathieson and then moved to Maryland.

During her life, Kit was a gym teacher at Southern High School in Baltimore, taught exercise classes at the local Y, taught swim lessons for kids and choreographed water shows at Rolling Road Golf Club in Catonsville.  She started a business called Kit’s Crafts through which she sold crafts handmade by her.  She managed to always be around water, either at Rolling Road GC, living on the Magothy River or on Macum Creek on Kent Island.

Kit was creative at heart and her interests were many:  painting, sketching and drawing, swimming, sailing, body surfing, figure skating, bicycling, photography, family documentarian, geneaology, sewing, animals of all kinds, and, of course chief cook and bottle washer.  Even though she referred to herself as a social hermit, she truly enjoyed her children, grandchildren and good friends.  She had a keen wit and appreciated a good pun.  She loved to laugh and was an optimist at heart.

Perhaps Kit’s most important talent was being the common thread that stitched many relationships and ideas together.  She became a stepmom when she married Jack Davis who had 4 daughters, Sandy, Diane, Kendall and Kim.  Now, with a total of 7 kids, not all in one house, she successfully juggled birthdays, graduations, weddings, children and grandchildren, and special occasions for each, yet making each feel as if they were the only one.

We feel her loss deeply and will miss her dearly.  However, we each know we will always carry her with us in our hearts, thoughts and mannerisms, and through the words and actions we choose.

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