26
THE DAVEY BULLETIN
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September/October 2026
DAUGHTER OF FORMER DAVEY LEADER VISITS KENT
A full circle moment for Davey shareholder Jane Kenamore
and her husband, Bruce, who was once a Davey employee,
came recently during a visit to Kent, Ohio, and the Davey
SEED (Science, Employee Education and Development)
Campus.
The Kenamores, who are current Davey shareholders, visited
to tour the campus. While there, they reminisced about
Jane's father, John F. "Jack" Allen, who worked for Davey
from 1927 until 1960, when he died unexpectedly of a heart
attack. Allen had served in various sales roles and climbed
the company ladder to be elected a director in 1957.
"He started as a tree surgeon," Jane Kenamore said. "When
I was old enough to know what he was doing, he had gone
into utility services managing contracts to clear right of ways
for power lines."
Allen worked in Missouri, and the offi ce where he conducted
his Davey work in Webster Groves was on the way to Jane's
school, so she often stopped in to say hello on her way
home. Jane said her dad was a close associate of Martin
L. "Brub" Davey, Jr., especially when he was a very young
Davey president in the 1940s. "When he came to town on
a business trip, he would join us for dinner. I remember his
being very kind and including me in conversation, though I
was probably 10 years old."
Jane graduated from Northwestern University – her gradua-
tion announcement appeared in the July 1960 Davey Bulletin
– and would go on to become an archivist, where she has
organized the archives of several family owned corporations,
such as Shure Incorporated (microphones) and Edelman
(public relations). Her brother worked for Davey during his
summer breaks, as did her husband Bruce. While Bruce and
Jane were dating, he worked for her father in utility vegeta-
tion management driving a Dodge Power Wagon – just like
the one in the SEED Campus lobby – spraying vegetation in
Missouri, Oklahoma, and Illinois.
"Pipeline work was real fun, outdoors walking 10 miles
a day," Bruce said. "The Power Wagons were great on a
pipeline right-of-way."
Allen obtained Davey shares in the 1950s that have since
been passed on to Jane, who said she follows her mother's
advice and never spends the principal – only the dividends.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Jane and Bruce Kenamore visited the SEED Campus in August.
Jane's father, Jack Allen, was a company director in the 1950s.
Bruce worked summers for Davey using a Dodge Power Wagon
like the one in the SEED lobby.
Allen served as a company
director in the 1950s.
Jack Allen circa 1929.
The 1930 class of D.I.T.S. included Allen.
