GEOFFREY CLIVE DAVIES / 1916-2005

Theo Davies’ grandson
once served as chairman

CORRECTION Tuesday, June 28, 2005 » Geoffrey Clive Davies served as a director and board chairman of the Hawaii Preparatory Academy on the Big Island and was a co-founder of the school, according to his children. An obituary on Page C9 Thursday incorrectly said he was a director of Hanahauoli School on Oahu. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.

The grandson of Big Five company founder Theophilus H. Davies, who established Theo H. Davies & Co., has died.

Geoffrey Clive Davies died suddenly Friday at his home in Ipswich, England. He had turned 89 on June 7.

"Geoffrey was quite active -- he was the chairman of the company (until about 1981) and really the last family member to serve as chairman of the company," said longtime friend David Heenan, a Campbell Estate trustee who served as chairman, president and chief executive of Davies from 1982 through 1994.

TheoDavies, as it later became known, was one of the Big Five companies that dominated Hawaii's business and political scene from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s. The other four companies, all sprouting from roots in Hawaii's sugar industry, were Castle & Cooke, Alexander & Baldwin, C. Brewer & Co. and Amfac.

Geoffrey and Joan Cooke Davies, his wife of 63 years, maintained longtime friendships with other high-profile Hawaii residents, including Bob and Evanita Midkiff, Hawaii financier Chinn Ho, Ho's daughter Karen and son-in-law Stanley Hong, and federal Judge Sam King and his wife, Anne. The Davies family also maintains two homes in Lanikai.

Geoffrey Davies had been too frail to travel in recent years but had windsurfed into his 80s and was an active outdoorsman, Heenan said.

Anne King added, "He had been working in his garden the very day he died. You know how Englishmen love their gardens."

Davies spent a chunk of his adult life away from the islands, but while here, he served as honorary British consul and was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his service, King said.

Stanley Hong's father-in-law, former newspaper owner Chinn Ho, was appointed to the board of Theo Davies and became the first person of Asian decent to serve on any Big Five board of directors, Hong said.

Davies hired Hong in 1973 to serve as vice president of administration and general counsel.

Hong Kong-based conglomerate Jardine Matheson Co. bought Theo H. Davies & Co. in 1973 but kept Davies at the helm.

Davies oversaw development of the skyscraper that bears his family's name, Davies Pacific Center at 841 Bishop St., which replaced an older, fortresslike building that also bore the family moniker.

He is survived by his wife; daughters Susan, Cynthia and Alison; son Peter; grandchildren; and great-grandchildren.

The funeral will be held Monday at 3:30 p.m. at St. Mary's Church in Ipswich, England. The funeral home handling inquiries is Farthing Singleton & Hastings in Ipswich.

The family requests no flowers and that donations in his memory be made to Hanahauoli School in Honolulu, where Davies was a contributor and longtime board member.