Trailblazing Devine Street businesswoman passes away

Margaret Davis, the longtime owner of Devine Street’s Non(e)Such antique and gift store, passed away Tuesday.

Davis, 94, opened the store with daughter Jean Bruton in 1978. It was one of the first upscale shops to open on Devine, and became a destination for shoppers.

“She, and her store, Non(e)Such, are literally the cornerstone of Devine Street,” said Tracy Wright, president of the Devine Street Merchants Association. “She will always be remembered as a pioneer for women in business. Her dedication and hard work over the past 40 years will continue to be a shining part of the Devine Street district.”

Other business owners along Devine Street looked up to Davis and her family as one of the pillars of the business district, said Perry Lancaster, manager of the neighboring Britton’s clothing store.

“What’s great about Devine Street is that we have all these family things here,” Lancaster said. “They always take a leadership role, and I’m glad the family is continuing there.”

Davis’s daughter-in-law, Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker, said she made a “genuine connection with everyone” and always made her feel at home.

“She wore herself lightly, and always made you feel like you were the most important person in the room,” Parker said. “If you knew her, you were lucky, but to be her daughter-in-law was divine ... Anybody who could say something bad about mothers-in-law didn’t know Margaret.”

S.C. first lady Peggy McMaster got her start working at Non(e)Such, working as an intern in the shop in 1980 while studying fashion merchandise at the University of South Carolina. She says watching Davis work convinced her she could run her own shop.

“Her merchandise was top drawer, just like she was,” McMaster said. “Opening my own dress shop on Devine three years later was influenced by this strong, focused woman.”

McMaster recalled Davis for her “sophisticated Southern charm,” and the fact she “called everybody ‘dahlin,’ spelled ‘d-a-h-l-i-n.’ ”

Born Margaret Smyth McKissick in 1923, Davis grew up in Greenville as the daughter of textile manufacturer Ellison McKissick and Jean McKissick.

After graduating from the Spence School in New York, she settled in Columbia in 1954 with her husband, attorney John Bratton Davis Jr., who was head of the State Development Board and, later, chief judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in South Carolina.

Davis also was an accomplished horse rider who brought show horses to Madison Square Garden. In recognition of her skills, a riding competition in Tryon, N.C., named its trophy the Margaret McKissick Cup.

She was a regent of Kenmore Plantation in Fredericksburg, Va., and a member of the Colonial Dames and the Palmetto Garden Club.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday at Columbia’s Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.

This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 11:09 AM with the headline "Trailblazing Devine Street businesswoman passes away."