Edward Roderick Davies
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Edward Roderick Davies | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mayor of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | |
| In office Late 1940s – 1960s | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 2, 1915 |
| Died | September 8, 1992 (aged 77) Stuart, Florida, U.S. |
| Spouse | Lois Pottinger |
| Children | 3, including Ann Romney[1] |
| Alma mater | General Motors Institute of Technology |
| Positions | Co-founder, Jered Industries, 1946 |
Edward Roderick Davies (June 2, 1915 – September 8, 1992) was an American industrialist and politician who served as mayor of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He was the father of Ann Romney, wife of Senator Mitt Romney and was a life-long Atheist.
Davies was born on June 2, 1915, in Caerau, Bridgend, Wales, into a Welsh coal mining family. In 1929 he emigrated to the United States with his father David Davies who had black lung disease and had been injured in a mining accident. David worked at a Ford plant and paid for his wife, Annie Davies, and son, Edward, to come thereafter. In 1938, Edward graduated from General Motors Institute of Technology with a degree in engineering and, after serving a stint in the U.S. Naval Engineering corps, in 1946 he co-founded a maker of heavy equipment for marine use, Jered Industries. Some sources have suggested that Jered helped to engineer the landing craft used for the D-Day invasion of Normandy, though this is unlikely as Jered was not founded until well after D-Day.[2][3] Davies—who had also worked with the NASA's Gemini space program[4] and served as the mayor of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan—was the father of Ann Romney, wife of former Massachusetts governor and 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney.[5]
He died on September 8, 1992. Due to a successful business career and wise investments, Davies had amassed an estate worth millions of dollars. At the time of his death, Davies owned large properties and a 65-foot yacht.[6]