* Jeannette Dent; Homemaker, Volunteer

Longtime Ventura resident Jeannette Dent died Tuesday at home following a brief illness. She was 87.

Dent was born Jan. 14, 1912, in Ann Arbor, Mich., to Dr. Harrison William and Grace Esther Jones.

When Dent was an infant, her family moved to California and lived in several cities, including Modesto, Pasadena and San Luis Obispo before moving to Ventura, said Dent’s daughter, Martha Spogen.

Dent graduated from Ventura High School in 1929 and attended a nursing program at Mercy Hospital in San Diego before marrying Ventura rancher Jack Dent in 1931.

Dent volunteered at the American Red Cross, Community Chest and Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura.

She was also active with the Ventura Emblem Club No. 157, the women’s auxiliary to the Elks Club, and she was a member of the ladies social organization Phi Epsilon Phi sorority.

Spogen said her mother was an avid supporter of animal rights and contributed generously to several organizations, including the Humane Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

She also supported several veterans organizations and groups that helped the blind.

Spogen said her mother was a private person but very generous and caring.

Dent was preceded in death by her husband, who died last year, as well as her parents and three siblings.

Dent is survived by Spogen, who lives in Minden, Nev.; another daughter, Pegge Bays of Big Timber, Mont.; eight grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and one nephew.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Livingston Visiting Nurses Assn. in Ventura or to a person’s charity of choice.

No funeral is planned but there will be a private graveside service held out of state at a later date. Ted Mayr Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.