46 | JULY 16 • 2020 

Soul
of blessed memory

A

s soon as John Jacobs graduated law 
school in 1971, he set his sights on 
making the world a better place — 
and doing his utmost to benefit the Jewish 
community.
“John really blossomed as an adult,
” 
said longtime friend Marcy Feldman of 
Huntington Woods. “He got 
involved in so many commu-
nity organizations. He really 
championed the underdog.
”
It was Marcy, along with 
mutual friend Ken Bertin, 
who fixed up John with his 
future wife in 1968. “I saw Kenny and John 
standing on the street, and I went over to 
say hello,
” remembers Marcy. “John said, 
‘
Do you have a girl for me to take out on 
Saturday night?’
 and I said, “Yeah, sure, my 
friend Gilda.
’
”
Three years later, John and Gilda mar-
ried, and the two set out on an idealistic 
quest to better the community — Gilda 
Jacobs through public service as a state rep-
resentative and state senator and John using 
his grit and brainpower to aid Jewish people 
in need.
John E. Jacobs, 73, of Huntington Woods, 
a 2017 recipient of the William Davidson 
Lifetime Achievement Award of the Jewish 
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, died 
July 1, 2020.
By day, John was a corporate and real 

estate lawyer. But after hours, he held lead-
ership positions with Jewish Family Service, 
JVS, ADL, Temple Emanu-El, Tamarack 
Camps, Federation’
s Annual Campaign and 
Federation’
s Community Services Division, 
among other organizations.
John’
s legendary dedication to the Jewish 
community lasted all his adult life. He was 
relentlessly available when there was work 
to be done.
“John always said yes,
” said Federation 
President Beverly Liss. “He was tireless; 

very bright, very astute. He was able to 
strategize — a real problem solver.
“John was a true mensch,
” Liss said. 
“He had a very big heart and a love for the 
Jewish community, for Israel and for his 
family.
”
Recalled Gilda, “John didn’
t just show up 
at meetings. When he took on a responsi-
bility on a committee or a board, he really 
got involved. He wasn’
t the rubber-stamp 
kind of board member. People respected 
him for that. He asked great questions and 
worked for creative solutions.

“He also led two missions of state 
legislators to Israel to help them better 
understand Federation’
s programs. It was 
a natural milieu for John because he knew 
many legislators and he so well understood 
Federation and its agencies.
”
As part of Federation’
s Government 
Relations Oversight Committee, he lobbied 
legislators to win financial allocations for 
the Jewish, Chaldean and Arab-American 
communities.

AN OPEN HEART
John served as president of Jewish Family 
Service from 1990-1992, said Perry Ohren, 
its current CEO.
“He was passionate about helping people 
alleviate their impoverished situations,
” said 
Ohren. “He was also very helpful in the 
early ’
90s raising funds for the Windows 
Program, which was about domestic abuse 
prevention and intervention.
“Many people thought that we Jews 
don’
t have social problems like poverty and 
domestic violence,
” Ohren said. “John was 
aware of this and helped many Jewish agen-
cies start programs to help people who were 
hurting.
“He was also very involved with our 
community’
s efforts to help older adults. 
John was outspoken that the Jewish com-
munity should be there until the bitter end 
for older adults.
”
It was John’
s efforts with the Committee 
on Jewish Eldercare Services (COJES) to 

assist seniors aging at home that eventually 
came back to benefit him when he was 
ailing.
“
All of a sudden, the community was 
there to provide the services for John and 
for our family,
” said Gilda.
“How lucky we are that our community 
has these resources when families are in 
need as well as the leadership of people like 
John and his Federation peers.
“John was an important part of creating 
an incredible support system and safety 
net for folks who need services. That is the 

‘John 
 Always
Said Yes’

DAVID SACHS CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

“John was a true mensch. He had a very
big heart and a love for the Jewish
community, for Israel and for his family.”

— FEDERATION PRESIDENT BEVERLY LISS

JOHN HARDWICK

John Jacobs

JOHN HARDWICK

John and
Gilda Jacobs

Soul
of blessed memory

