Davis Duane Carr, a native of Elmhurst, IL and a former resident of Mobile, AL, died in Chicago, on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2005 after a short but courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Davis Carr was Senior Vice President of Claim Legal for CNA Insurance Companies. Mr. Carr received his J.D. from the University of Alabama in 1979, Order of the Coif and recipient of the M. Leigh Harrison Award for Academic Scholarship and Excellent Character, Research Editor, Law Review. Prior to joining CNA in 2002, Mr. Carr was National Litigation Counsel for Combined Insurance Company and Senior Litigation Counsel for Aon Corporation. Before that he was in practice in Alabama for 20 years where he tried around 300 cases and was involved in over 100 appeals. Mr. Carr has Martindale Hubble AV rating, was chosen by Lawyers Weekly as one of the top eight lawyers of the year in 1996, President of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association 1992-93, Fellow in the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, and Who’s Who in American Law. Mr. Carr was active in and chaired several committees for the Defense Research Institute. He was a faculty member for the International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy, Boulder, CO. Mr. Carr took a high profile role in tort reform efforts in Alabama from 1992 to 1995, and is the author of several articles on litigation matters and frequent speaker at seminars around the country on litigation topics. He was a visionary and founding member of The Gathering Place Church in Highland Park, IL. Mr. Carr was preceded in death by his father, Harold Carr and is survived by his wife, Kaye Carr, Chicago; four daughters, Whitney (Ben) Cheesbro, New Orleans, LA, Griffin Carr, Birmingham, AL, Sarah (Will) Seipp, Beaufort, SC and Hannah Howard-Carr, Chicago; three sons, Jordan Carr, Mobile, AL, Jeremiah (Leah) Howard, Vernon Hills and Aaron Howard, Long Beach, MS; mother, Molly Carr, Mobile, AL; sister, Belinda (Steve) Carr, Redwood City, CA; grandchild, Destiny Hope Seipp, Beaufort, SC and other relatives. Visitation, funeral and interment were held at Mobile Memorial Gardens in Mobile, AL. A memorial service will be held Sunday, Feb. 20, 2005 at 3 p.m. at The Gathering Place Church (Meeting in Redeemer Lutheran Church Bldg.), 1731 Deerfield Road, Highland Park, IL 60035, 847-831-0240. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to The Gathering Place in Memorial Honor of Davis Carr. You may send gifts to The Gathering Place (address above) and designate your gift, “Davis Carr Keeping the Main Thing, the Main Thing.”
