Jeanne Comey Owen, whose volunteer work on behalf of children spanned more than five decades in Vero Beach, Fla., East Hampton, and elsewhere on Long Island, died of pneumonia on June 11 in hospice care in Vero Beach. A resident of East Hampton until 1998, she was 94.
“She lived 94 very productive and wonderful years and was loved and adored by many,” one of her sons, Peter Pickands Dayton of East Hampton, wrote.
Ms. Owen spearheaded construction of the Glen Cove Day Care Center in the early 1960s, and between 1965 and 1975 held positions on its board, including president and secretary. She joined the East Hampton Ladies Village Improvement Society in 1978, chairing its landmarks committee for a time and serving on committees dedicated to hospitality and the annual fair, among others. Ms. Owen also volunteered at Southampton Hospital.
She was a board member for the Family Service Association of Nassau County between 1960 and 1964, and volunteered at Glen Cove Hospital in the women’s auxiliary from 1957 to 1975. There, she served as a baby photographer and helped raise money. She was also a Cub Scout den mother.
In Florida, she volunteered to teach classes in yoga, drama, and “values clarification” at the Indian River Correctional Institution, a now-shuttered juvenile detention center, starting in 1981. At the Indian River Memorial Hospital, she volunteered at the reception desk and family waiting room and helped with the library cart beginning in 1979.
She was born in Cleveland on Feb. 14, 1925, to Robert Tearle Comey and the former Elizabeth Pickands. She grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and attended the Hathaway Brown School in Cleveland, Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, Conn., and Smith College in Massachusetts. During her lifetime, she also lived in Great Neck, Glen Cove, and Upper Brookville.
She married her first husband, Daniel L. Dayton Jr., in New York City in 1950; the couple had three children. Mr. Dayton died in 1974. In 1975, she married Frederick Howard Owen Jr.; he died in 1980.
Ms. Owen enjoyed breeding and showing award-winning English springer spaniels. She loved needlepoint and was part of a group that made the kneelers at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton. She was an enthusiastic duplicate bridge player and did the New York Times crossword puzzle daily.
The clubs she belonged to included the Creek Club and Beaver Dam Winter Sports Club in Locust Valley, the Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett, John’s Island Club in Vero Beach, the University Club in New York City, and the Smith College Club of Long Island. For the latter she served on the medal and scholarship committees.
Beyond St. Luke’s, Ms. Owen was active in St. John’s of Lattingtown in Locust Valley, Trinity Episcopal Church in Vero Beach, and the Episcopal Church Foundation in New York City.
In addition to her son, Ms. Owen is survived by two other children, Daniel L. (Chip) Dayton III of East Hampton and Susan Dayton of Vero Beach. Three stepchildren, Fred Owen III, Sandra Edwards, and Judy Owen, six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild also survive.
A memorial service for Ms. Owen will be held at 11 a.m. on Nov. 9 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Vero Beach.