Dorothy Sames Owens, one of the most prominent developers of Calvert County, died of a heart attack Thursday in her Lothian farmhouse. She was 73.
A vice president of J. B. Waters and Associates, a real estate firm in Prince Frederick, Mrs. Owens was associated with much of the residential development of Calvert County during the 1970s and early 1980s. Many of the county's neighborhoods, which bear such serenely melodic names as Woodwind Estates and Hallmark Estates, are at least partly the result of Mrs. Owens' well-known energy and saleswoman's charm.
"She had more vitality than anyone," said Jennifer Owens Wade, one of Mrs. Owens' two daughters. "She entered a room, and the room knew it."
Recently, Mrs. Owens devoted herself to a residential project called Turtle Creek.
Dorothy Sames was born in Towson, one of nine children. At age 2, her family moved to Birdsville in Anne Arundel County. She graduated from Annapolis Senior High School in 1939 and a year later wed Kenneth Sunderland Owens, a tobacco farmer whose brother was married to her sister.
The couple lived on White Oak Farm, a 200-year-old farmhouse that has been in Mr. Owens' family since 1802. Mr. Owens died a year ago.
While her children were growing up, Mrs. Owens stayed at home to care for them, but in 1968 she jumped into real estate and joined the Waters firm.
"She really enjoyed real estate," said Joe Waters, the company president, who met Mrs. Owens through a mutual friend. "It wasn't just labor to her."
The firm bought large tracts, often farmland, which it would have surveyed and platted. After building roads through the new development, it would sell individual parcels for home construction.
"Some people say she developed most of Calvert County," said her other daughter, Janet S. Owens.
Mrs. Owens also was an avid bridge player and loved to travel, particularly to Europe and most recently to Aruba. She was a longtime member of St. James Episcopal Church in Lothian.
Services were to be held at 11 a.m. today at St. James Episcopal Church.
In addition to her daughters, Mrs. Wade of Arnold and Ms. Owens of Millersville, Mrs. Owens is survived by two brothers, Edward Sames of Okeechobee, Fla., and James Sames of Lothian; three grandsons; one granddaughter; and numerous nieces and nephews.
The family suggests contributions to the church at 5757 Solomons Island Road, Lothian 20711.