Liselotte M. Davis
March 11, 1935 ~ September 11, 2025
Born in:
Schartau, Germany
Resided in:
New Haven, Connecticut
Liselotte Mielau Davis, born March 11, 1935 in Schartau, Germany, passed away in her home on September 11, 2025. After leaving East Germany and attending the Freie Universitat in Berlin, she immigrated to the U.S. in 1957. She first settled in Massachusetts, then moved to North Haven, CT in 1961. She lived in Old Lyme, New Haven and Hamden. Most recently she lived at The Towers in New Haven, a senior independent living community.
Liselotte earned a Ph.D. from Yale University in 1985. She taught German language and literature at Yale until her retirement in 2000. That year she was awarded an annual prize for “Excellence in Teaching” from Yale. After retirement she divided her time between Berlin, Germany and Hamden, with loving family and a circle of cherished friends and colleagues on both sides of the Atlantic. She saw herself as an ambassador and with a mission to help explain both countries to each other. She loved them both equally.
She is survived by her two daughters, Susan Davis of Haydenville, MA and Andrea Davis of Kings Valley, OR. She was pre-deceased by her son, Frederick Davis.
Friends may visit with her family on Friday, September 19th at Beecher & Bennett Funeral Home, 2300 Whitney Ave., Hamden from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. with a Celebration of Life in the funeral home at 11:00. Burial to follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery. Memorial contributions can be made to The Tower Foundation, 18 Tower Lane, New Haven, CT 06519. To leave her family a condolence, please see obituary at www.beecherandbennett.com.
Services
Visitation: September 19, 2025 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Beecher & Bennett Funeral Service - Hamden
2300 Whitney Avenue
Hamden, CT 06518
203-288-0800
Celebration of Life: September 19, 2025 11:00 am
Beecher & Bennett Funeral Service - Hamden
2300 Whitney Avenue
Hamden, CT 06518
203-288-0800
My heart goes out to her daughters, Andrea and Susan, and to the many people whose lives she touched. I will always remember how she would stand firmly in defense of protecting trees whenever they were in danger, for any reason, of being cut down. I enjoyed going with her to meetings of our local German Conversation Group, where Lise shared vivid and beautiful stories about her childhood in Germany. And I will always hold dear the sweet way Lise shared the things she loved with others, like her old-fashioned Christmas tree, her poetry reading and writing, her daily walks, and her love of the German language. Lise cherished her family with every fiber of her being. I hope her soul is at peace, reunited with her beloved son, Frederick.