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