Jacqueline Albert Simon, a political science journalist, college professor, and philanthropist who was a summer and weekend resident of East Hampton for more than 60 years, died on Monday in New York City at the age of 98. She had been ill with cancer for seven months.
Near the end of her life, according to her family, Ms. Simon had said, "Lucky me to have a life in which I made wonderful friends and met interesting people."
Among her proudest accomplishments was the creation of the Pierre F. Simon Foundation and the Pierre F. Simon Charitable Trust, named in honor of her late husband, which supported organizations such as the Fresh Air Fund, Robin Hood, and Weill Cornell Hospital.
With a bachelor's degree from New York University in hand and membership in the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, Ms. Simon began her career at the trade publication Woman's Reporter and at the age of 25 was named its editor in chief. She took some years away from her profession to raise her children and help her husband develop his business in the electronics and aircraft industries, which she described as "rewarding and joyful" experiences. She later went back to N.Y.U. for a master's degree and doctorate, finishing in 1977.
She pursued both an academic career, teaching at Southampton College and N.Y.U., and a journalistic career, serving as United States bureau chief and associate editor of Politique Internationale, a quarterly French journal that covered foreign affairs. Ms. Simon conducted interviews with many international politicians and thought leaders, including Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, and John Kenneth Galbraith, that became the core of many editions of the journal.
She was born in New York City on April 12, 1922, to Louis Albert and the former Rose Axelrod.
In September of 1948, she married Pierre F. Simon, a French-American industrialist who had enlisted in the Army during World War II and served as a liaison between the American Office of Strategic Services and the French Resistance. Mr. Simon died in 1998.
For 40 years, Ms. Simon was on the staff of the Institute of French Studies at N.Y.U., serving as a research associate and, ultimately, visiting professor. There she specialized in helping students develop and achieve their goals. In 2018, the university honored her with the creation of an annual award, the Jacqueline Albert Simon Award for Best Master's Thesis. She was also on the board of the Overseas Press Club, holding positions including vice president, treasurer, and secretary, and sponsored a number of awards, including one in memory of her dear friend and mentor, Flora Lewis.
In East Hampton, Ms. Simon loved the ambiance of a small village, the pond and swans at the entrance of the village, and small shops where everybody knew each other.
Her family wrote that "her intelligence, grace, wit, kindness, and humility" will be missed. "Our family is comforted by the wonderful memories and experiences we shared."
She leaves two children, Lisette Jacobs of New York City and Orville Simon of Aventura, Fla., along with two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Ms. Simon was cremated, and her ashes will be disbursed in New York City and East Hampton.
