Rena Rowan Damone

Ms. Rowan Damone was born in Lida, Poland, and exiled to Siberia with her mother and sister during World War II. They escaped and reunited with her father in Iran, where she met and married an American officer, then came to the U.S. in 1945. As a single mother, Ms. Rowan began dressmaking and studied at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art in the 1950s. Her varied design work led her to co-found Jones Apparel Group, whose flagship Jones New York label is known for sophisticated, affordable women’s sportswear. After her marriage to singer Vic Damone in 1998, Ms. Rowan Damone retired as executive vice president in 2000. She founded the Rena Rowan Foundation for the Homeless in 1995 to care for homeless families, children and teens in Philadelphia. She is a longtime supporter of the American Red Cross. She received its Spectrum Award, the Shoah Foundation, Philadelphia University, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center, where she supported the development of the Rena Rowan Breast Center.