Phyllis Burke Davis of Bridgehampton Dies August 8

Phyllis Burke Davis of Bridgehampton, New York died peacefully at her home, surrounded by family, on August 8. She was 92 years old.

Phyllis was the daughter of Mary and James Frank Burke. She was born December 24, 1931, in Albany, NY, an early Christmas present for her three older siblings. After being raised in Slingerlands, New York and Wellesley, Massachusetts, she attended Colby Junior College (now Colby-Sawyer) in New Hampshire and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont. After graduation, she served on the staff of Massachusetts Governor Christian Herter before becoming an executive assistant to Eric A. Johnston, president of the Motion Pictures Association of America. From there, she moved to the Avon Corporation, where she quickly rose to become the highest ranking woman in the company.

Phyllis was pre-deceased by her husband Edmund (Ed) Davis, to whom she was married for 44 years. Phyllis and Ed lived in New York City before retiring to Bridgehampton, NY, where they were active and beloved members of the community. After Ed died in 2012, Phyllis continued maintaining the beautiful home and gardens they created until her death. Phyllis was active with the Bridgehampton Fire Department, Bridgehampton Museum, and the Bridgehampton Club. She was especially fond of her regular visits to The Candy Kitchen to catch up with her many friends in Bridgehampton.

It was at Avon where Phyllis Davis flourished as a self-described “salesaholic.” She was quoted once saying, “I’d love selling widgets and I’d love selling oil tankers.” At Avon she rose to group vice president of sales and distribution in 1985, overseeing the massive team known famously at the time as “Avon Ladies.” She was the first woman to hold this role and spent much of her career as a mentor to others trying to rise through the ranks.

After learning of her passing, former Avon chairman and CEO Andrea Jung said, “As the very first woman to achieve the position of VP of Sales at Avon Products in 1985, Phyllis Davis’ legendary career leading 2000 district managers and over 400,000 sales representatives was an inspiration to all women leaders that followed her in the company, and the industry, for decades to come.”

Phyllis Davis was an inspiring leader. After taking over a sales group whose revenues were in steep decline, she challenged them to rally and said that if they were able to grow the business to meet her aggressive targets, she’d get Frank Sinatra to sing “My Way” to the group. They did, and Phyllis convinced senior management to make a substantial payment to Old Blue Eyes, who sang and recorded a special version of “You Did it Your Way” to Avon’s entire staff.

She went on to become Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs before her retirement in 1992.

Phyllis Davis served on the boards of directors of Fidelity, BellSouth, Eaton Corporation, the TJX Companies, Inc, Hallmark Cards, and Nabisco Brands, Inc. She was also a trustee of Southampton Hospital in New York and her alma mater, The University of Vermont.

In retirement, Phyllis’s greatest personal joy derived from serving as chair of the board of trustees of the Burke Foundation. Under her leadership, the foundation, established by her late brother James, grew dramatically as she developed and reorganized its board and supported the foundation’s focus on pre-natal and early childhood development.

Phyllis was the youngest and last surviving sibling of four high achievers. Her oldest brother, James E. Burke, was CEO of Johnson & Johnson. Sister Sidney Burke Carroll was a successful attorney and author, and brother Daniel B. Burke was the CEO of Capital Cities/ABC. She said once that she was able to keep their successes in perspective. “I don’t feel overpowered, because I used to make their sandwiches.”

Phyllis Davis will be remembered for many remarkable gifts and talents, but her superpower was making others feel special. She always took a keen and sincere interest in whomever she was speaking with and had a unique way of making people feel great about themselves. As an avid gardener, traveler, and independent – and sometimes feisty – follower of politics, she was great company and had a wide range of loyal friends.

Phyllis Burke Davis is survived by many adoring nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand nephews from the Burke, Carroll, McNamara, and Davis families.

A memorial celebration of Phyllis’s life will be held on Saturday, November 9th at 11:00am at The Bridgehampton Club. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Davis Wellness Institute at Southampton Hospital (at southamptonhospitalfoundation.org or by phone at 631-726- 8700), or the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton (at P.O. Box 3025, Bridgehampton, NY 11932, or by phone at 631-537-0015).