Glen Davidson ’48

Entrepreneur and executive Glen Davidson ’48 died Aug. 10, 2014, in McCormick, South Carolina. He was 89.

Davidson served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, where he flew dive bomber missions in the Pacific Theatre. After his service he attended Cornell College, where he played football. He also met his wife, Lois Jensen Davidson ’49, whom he married just a few months after his graduation in 1947.

Davidson was marketing director and national sales manager for Shaeffer Pen Company for 14 years, and he was an executive with Sun Mark Candy Company. He was instrumental in the development of SweetTarts, Giant Jawbreakers, and Tangy Taffy. He also served as vice president of Heath Electronics and Iowa Paint Company.

In 1967, Davidson built his own candy factory, Davidson of Dundee, Inc., where he manufactured hundreds of different kinds of candies, jellies, and marmalades, and shipped fresh citrus throughout the United States and Canada.

Among the awards Davidson received were being inducted into the Tampa Bay Business Hall of Fame and the Polk County Public Schools Hall of Fame. He received the economics education award from the University of South Florida and was adjunct professor at Florida Southern College.

Davidson is survived by his wife Lois, two sons and two daughters, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.