Beatrice Jayne, 93, died Dec. 12.
She was a member of the Three Village community and a cornerstone of Stony Brook history.
Bea became involved with the Three Village Historical Society with the writing of the Arcadia publication “Images of America: Stony Brook” (2003). While gathering information and stories for the book, one of the committee members said there was a woman at the Three Village Garden Club Exchange that the society needed to get involved, because she knew everything.
Bea was a founding member of the Stony Brook Historical Society which existed at the time she joined the Three Village Historical Society’s local history meetings. She shared a wealth of knowledge and stories about the history of Stony Brook and its residents past and present. Bea was the family historian and had a collection of documents, photographs and stories handed down from relatives over the years. Having served as the clerk for the Stony Brook School District and the Three Village Central School District, after consolidation of the Stony Brook and Setauket School districts, Bea knew generations of students, their families and community members. The Jayne family was also active in the Stony Brook Fire Department, Brookhaven Bathing Association and other community organizations.
Bea was a great salesman at promoting local history. With membership in the Stony Brook Historical Society numbering just a few members, the organization disbanded joining with the Three Village Historical Society and funding the Stony Brook book. When the Stony Brook book was printed, she drove around town with a carton of books promoting and selling them out of the trunk of her car to any and all for the TVHS.
There was always a story or tale to tell. She was the person to call with any Stony Brook history questions no matter how obscure and if she didn’t know the answer she always followed up with phone calls to her other sources. She pushed that Stony Brook history be equally represented and that the complete history of Stony Brook should not be lost.
Born in the Village of the Branch in 1927, Bea’s family came to Stony Brook to live in 1939. Bea graduated from Port Jefferson High School. In 1946 she married Leslie Jayne. She leaves behind children Susan, Patricia, Deborah and Michael, her grandson Philip, and her brother Bruce and their families.
A memorial service is being planned for a future date.
