Dolores Daly Simon of Warwick, New York, died peacefully and gently at her home on February 20, 2018 after a long illness at the age of 89.
She was born in San Francisco, CA on November 18, 1928, the daughter of Frank and Jeannette Cooke Daly. She grew up in Bellefonte, PA, and graduated from Bellefonte High School in 1946. After earning a journalism degree at Pennsylvania State University in 1950, she held society editor posts at two small-town daily newspapers in Pennsylvania (the Centre Daily Times in State College and the morning Era in Bradford).
In 1952 she married Sidney B. Simon, a fellow Penn State alumnus. They divorced in 1955 and she never remarried. She is survived by two sons: John and his wife Lynne Jackier of Ithaca, NY and Douglas and his wife Rose Babayan of Escondido, CA (and his former wife Leslee Simon of Santa Maria, CA). She also leaves behind four grandchildren: Emma Coty, Jacob Miller, Rosie Simon and Kenzey Simon, and two great granddaughters, as well as a number of dear friends and neighbors, foremost of whom is her long-time caregiver and devoted friend James Beaugard.
After moving to New York City, Simon joined the copyediting staff of what was then Harper & Brothers, Publishers in 1955. In 1960 she was promoted to copy chief of Harper trade books, overseeing editorial production of all the adult fiction and general nonfiction as well as having close involvement with various Harper cookbooks. (Meanwhile, Harper & Brothers became Harper & Row; it is now Harper Collins.) She launched her cookbook career by editing the original edition of Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Cook Book.
After 28 years she retired from Harper in 1988 and began copyediting on a freelance basis. She has lectured at copyediting courses at Radcliffe, City College and New York University. With Joan Whitman, a retired New York Times editor, she was coauthor of Recipes Into Type - A Handbook for Cookbook Writers and Editors (Harper Collins), which received both a James Beard and a Julia Child award as the best food reference book published in 1993. Even at the end of her time she was doing freelance editing for Warwick’s dirt magazine.
After her retirement, Simon moved from New York City to live full time at her country house in Warwick. She became involved with the Warwick Historical Society, serving on their Board of Directors, as well as serving on the Board of Governors of the Albert Wisner Public Library. She organized and edited a fundraiser, Anniversary Cookbook, published by the Historical Society in 2010.
A lifelong Democrat, she was a member of Phi Mu fraternity and the James Beard Foundation, serving for several years as a judge for the annual Beard awards.
A memorial service will be held in Warwick at a date to be announced. Burial of ashes will take place in Warwick Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Warwick Historical Society, P.O. Box 363, Warwick, NY 10990.
The family would especially like to thank Dolores’ dedicated team of caregivers and would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance provided by Hospice of Orange and Sullivan Counties.