Sarah Jane Leddy Spell

Sarah Jane Leddy Spell, who grew up in East Hampton and had worked at the Montauk Downs Golf Club and the Biltmore Hotel in Manhattan, died on Saturday at home in Apopka, Fla. She was 81 and had cancer for a year, her family said. 

Ms. Spell, who was called Jane, moved to Florida in 1957 but kept in touch with many friends in East Hampton and Montauk. When she lived in New York City, she was a hand model for the Coral Jewelry Company and a banquet coordinator for the Biltmore. 

She and James Whitfield Spell Sr. met when he was stationed at Montauk with the Air Force. They were married on July 9, 1957, and had celebrated 61 years of marriage. They raised four children. Her family said that during her marriage she became a full-time homemaker, a Girl Scout leader, and often helped others. She loved to bake, make flower arrangements, and do arts and crafts, they said. 

She was born on April 28, 1937, in Southampton to Walter Joseph Leddy and the former Rosemary Miller. She graduated in 1955 from East Hampton High School and went on to Becker Junior College in Worcester, Mass., where she majored in merchandising. She then returned to East Hampton and worked at the gift shop at Montauk Downs, where her father, who was known as Bumps, worked as a golf pro and her mother as manager. 

Ms. Spell attended Catholic and Baptist churches during her lifetime and taught Sunday school and vacation Bible school. She was a member of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton. 

She is survived by her husband and children, Julia Spell of Arcadia, Fla., Jimmy W. Spell Jr. and Walter Randall Spell, both of Kissimmee, Fla., and Kimberly Rose Spell of Longwood, Fla., as well as three grandchildren. 

Also surviving are a brother, Walter (Bradley) Leddy of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and a sister, Susan Leddy Iddy of Palm Beach. 

A celebration of her life was to be held at the Highland Funeral Home and Memory Gardens in Apopka  at 11 a.m. today. Memorial donations have been suggested to Hospice of the Comforter, 480 West Central Parkway, Altamonte Springs, Fla. 32714. Condolences may be sent to Jim and Jane Spell, 1585 Majestic Oak Drive, Apopka, Fla. 32712.