Asa T. Davison, Jr., 89, who died Dec. 2, is remembered as a hard working farmer and active member of the Cranbury community.
By: Jessica Beym
From the day he was born until almost a month before he died, Asa T. Davison Jr. was a farmer.
Mr. Davison, a lifelong resident, died at 89 on Dec. 2 at the Elms of Cranbury, and his friends and family say they’ll remember him as a kind, quite, hard working man.
He was born on the Ancil M. Davison homestead on Wyckoffs Mill Road, his grandfather’s farm, in 1916, and began working on the crop and dairy farm at a very young age.
His daughter, Doris Parry, recalls the stories her father used to tell her about his childhood.
"He would milk the cows before school, and would have to bottle the milk and deliver it to the homes. As soon as he came back from school, he’d get right back to work," said Ms. Parry.
Mr. Davison, the oldest of five children, attended Cranbury School and New Brunswick High School, where he met his wife, Margaret "Peg" Stults. After becoming sick with pneumonia, he dropped out of school and continued working on the farm.
In 1937, he married Ms. Stults. They bought a farm from Mr. Davison’s father on Brick Yard Road, where they worked as crop farmers raising potatoes, wheat, soy beans, and corn.
In 1953, he sold his land and moved to a farm across Route 130. There, he built a home for his family, his wife, and his two children, Doris and Harold.
His wife of 56 years died in 1993 and a year later he began losing his eyesight and retired from farming, but he continued to visit local farmers and ride the tractor, helping out when he could.
Ms. Parry, who lives in Vermont with her husband, said her father touched many lives in Cranbury and the surrounding areas and was very active in the community.
Mr. Davison was a member of the Hightstown Grange No. 96, an organization for farming families, and also the N.J. Ponoma Grange and the N.J. State Grange.
In his spare time, even if he wasn’t working on the farm, he could still be found in the field or the woods. A member of the Cranbury Hunting Club, Mr. Davison enjoyed hunting small game ever since he was young.
"His farm and nature was his life and it was his hobby," said Ms. Parry. "He loved the wildlife on the farm. He would just sit and watch the deer until his eyes grew too tired."
If he wasn’t on his farm, he was high up above it, Ms. Parry said. Mr. Davison and his wife had a friend who owned a hot air balloon and they often took rides high above the farm. Every Sunday, Mr. Davison was known to sit in the back row of the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury.
The Rev. Louis Mitchell, a pastor at the church, said Mr. Davison was very active in the congregation. He was an ordained elder and served as a deacon at different times. Mr. Davison was also the treasurer of the Sunday School, where his wife taught for many years.
"He was a quiet, solid man. He was very well respected and well liked. He was always willing to help," said Rev. Mitchell.
With knowledge of carpentry, Mr. Davison would help the church with any construction projects.
To support his family during the winter and World War II, Mr. Davison worked as a truck driver, often pulling 18-hour shifts. He was also the air raid warden for Cranbury and the surrounding area.
"He always provided well for us in the hard times," said Ms. Parry,
Ms. Parry said she plans on donating some of her father’s memorable items, such as his armband from World War II, to the Cranbury Museum.
Mr. Davison served many years as a member and an officer for the New Jersey Farm Credit and the New Jersey Farm Land Bank Association of Freehold, New Jersey. He was also a member of the Hightstown Apollo Lodge No. 41 in Hightstown.
His brothers, Charles M. Davison of Dryden, N.Y., and Warren H. Davison of Lithonia, Ga., are deceased. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Harold and Eileen Davison of Naples, Fla.; his siblings, Meribah D. Busby of Whiting and Lois D. Robbins of Princeton; his sisters-in-law, Marian Davison of Dryden, N.Y., Lillian Davison of Lithonia, Ga., and Florence Van Treuren of Edgewater, Fla.; his granddaughters, Luanne North of Burlington, Vt., Holly Keough of South Burlington, Vt., Julie Baron of Manchester, N.H., Diane Dooley of Vineland and Pamela Ramsay of Huntington Beach, Calif.; numerous nieces and nephews; 11 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Tuesday at the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury, 22 S. Main St., Cranbury, N.J. Interment followed in Brainerd Cemetery, Cranbury, N.J. Memorial contributions may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury, 22 S. Main St., Cranbury, N.J. 08512 or to the Cranbury First Aid Squad, 68 Maplewood Ave., Cranbury, N.J. 08512.
Funeral arrangements were under the direction of A.S. Cole Son and Co., 22 N. Main St., Cranbury, N.J.

