Jane Ames

AMES, Jane Saegmuller, 93, died in Irvington, on December 8, 2009. She was born on July 13, 1916, in Rochester, N.Y., daughter of the late George M. and Hermione Willimek Saegmuller. The Saegmullers were associated with Bausch and Lomb of Rochester, N.Y. at the time and returned to their Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Va. homes in 1927. Mrs. Ames was preceded in death by her husband, Harry C. Ames Jr.; and sister, Virginia S. Knull. A graduate of Western High School in 1933 and George Washington University in 1937, she was a member of Pi Beta Phi Sorority, and earned a BA in German Language and Literature. Mr. and Mrs. Ames were married in 1939 and had 69 happy years together. Mrs. Ames was a member of Westmoreland Congregational Church where she was active in the Women's Guild, chairing many of their annual bazaars. She also served on a budget committee for property funding and developed the church's Memorial Gardens. She served as president of the Westmoreland Hills Garden Club, creating the Corner Garden in that neighborhood. She organized several "clean-ups" of Little Falls Creek with neighborhood youth. Mrs. Ames was a former member of the Sulgrave Club and a lifetime member of the University Club. She is lovingly remembered for her devotion to family and friends demonstrated by the many gatherings she and Mr. Ames hosted throughout their married life in Westmoreland Hills, Edgewater Beach, Md. and Bedford County, Pa. Surviving are a daughter, Virginia A. and husband, Edward F. LaFond Jr. of Mechanicsburg, Pa.; two sons, H. Clifton Ames III of Reedville, Va. and George F. and wife, Claire J. Ames of Bethesda, Md.; seven grandchildren, two stepgrandchildren and four great-grandchildren; sister, Barbara S. McAleer of Winchester, Va. A memorial reception will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, January 30, 2010 at Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury, Irvington.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.