Chuck Davis passed away on April 28, 2025, at the age of 70, surrounded by members of his family and close friends. He will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Chuck was born in Berkeley and lived his entire life in the Bay Area, having resided at various times in Oakland, San Francisco, Berkeley, El Sobrante and Alameda. Chuck had an independent and entrepreneurial streak, which manifested early in life. After graduating from Skyline High School in Oakland, he decided immediately to go into real estate and promptly took the necessary course work for licensure. He became one of the youngest licensed real estate brokers in the area and started his career in residential real estate. When he saw more challenging and exciting opportunities in commercial real estate, he promptly shifted his focus and formed his own corporation, Pacific Coast Realty, to launch his commercial real estate career. While facilitating and fostering commercial real estate transactions, he concurrently engaged in various additional business ventures throughout his life.

His many business ventures included a printing business, a video rental store, and condominium conversion projects. His favorite business venture by far, however, was the White Horse Bar in Oakland, a business that he owned and operated for more than 20 years. The White Horse Bar has its own significant history of serving the LGBTQ community since the end of Prohibition in 1933, a fact that Chuck took great pride in continuing the tradition of until passing the torch to the next generation upon his retirement in 2022.

Chuck was a social person, one who loved to entertain and to be entertained. He was well known for his fun and exciting parties, both large and small, typically executed with tasteful elegance and flair. Chuck had a love of luxury items, the most visible being his choice of cars and (motor) boats. Boating was among his fondest pastimes as it allowed him the opportunity to simultaneously enjoy the water and outdoors while entertaining. In his younger years, he used his boat to explore the intricate waterways of the Delta and to waterski. He eventually acquired a larger boat that could handle the waves and currents of the San Francisco Bay. Many will remember joyful outings on the Bay, often accompanied by a lavish meal at a bayside restaurant or local yacht club, all expenses on Chuck’s tab.

Chuck was a generous and warm-hearted person. Those traits perhaps reflect the Aloha spirit originating from his parents who met, dated, and married in Honolulu, Hawaii before relocating to the Bay Area shortly before Chuck’s birth. Chuck was quick to pick up a restaurant tab, leave an extra-generous tip for the waitstaff, provide a loan to a friend, or to show up with multiple presents per person for birthday and holiday celebrations.

His generosity and selflessness are perhaps best reflected by how he and his partner, Jesse Kelly, provided in-home care to his mother during her final years of life (see nearby obituary for Nancy Jean Soderberg), who preceded Chuck’s passing by a mere 23 days.

Chuck is survived by his father, Robert (Bob) Davis, sister Jennifer Davis and her husband, Charles Schmelzer; his nephew Geoffrey Schmelzer, and niece Heidi McCray (formerly Schmelzer) and her husband, Montana. Chuck is also survived by his aunt, Dorothy O’Donnell, his step-siblings, Richard Soderberg, and his wife, Janice, and their children, Eric and Alex Soderberg, and Nancy Ciukowski (formerly Soderberg). In addition, Chuck is survived by his long-time trusted and beloved friend and partner, Jesse Kelly.

In keeping with the love and devotion between mother and son, joint services honoring both Chuck and Nancy will be held at Sunset View Cemetery, 101 Colusa Avenue, El Cerrito, starting at 11 am (please arrive at 10:45 am) on Friday, May 30. Inurnment of Nancy’s ashes will immediately follow at Sunset View.

Guests are then invited to gather in the Chapel at nearby Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda, Berkeley for a service and inurnment of Chuck’s ashes at the Northbrae Columbarium. A catered champagne reception honoring and celebrating mother and son will immediately follow in Haver Hall at Northbrae.

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