SYRACUSE -- Jean Daugherty, a pioneer in children's television, died Sunday at St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center after a series of health problems. She was 84.

Daugherty appeared in, wrote and produced all 6,200 episodes of "The Magic Toy Shop," which appeared on Syracuse television stations WTVH and WHEN from 1955 -- more than a decade before Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Sesame Street made their debuts -- until 1982.

Daugherty also produced numerous documentaries on local culture.

"She genuinely liked children," said Jackie Coley, who writes a social notebook column for The Post-Standard newspaper. "She'd approach a child she'd never seen before and come up with something to say. The child would react right away."

Daugherty came to Syracuse in the 1940s to earn her master's degree in radio broadcasting from Syracuse University. She worked at a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, before returning to Syracuse.

Daugherty's brother was College Football Hall of Fame coach Hugh "Duffy" Daugherty, who captained the Syracuse football team in 1939 and spent 19 seasons as head coach at Michigan State, where he had a 109-69-5 record and won two Big Ten championships. He died in 1987 at age 72.

A memorial service for Daugherty was scheduled for Thursday at the Park Central Presbyterian Church. Services were being arranged and will be held in Barnsboro, Pa., where Daugherty grew up, said Kathy Dain, a family friend.