Dorothy Ann (Smith) Jacobs

Dorothy Jacobs was born on September 9, 1921, in Galesburg, Illinois, just three years after the end of W.W.I. Her family moved to Peoria, Illinois, when she was in her early teens. During high school, she wrote a popular weekly teenage column for the local newspaper. She left college her sophomore year when she was recruited by the cereal and feed company, General Mills, to write advertisements in national magazines...a unique position, then, for a woman, but it was during W.W.II., and men were not available. While living in Detroit she met and married Warren J. Jacobs, an Air Force serviceman stationed at a base nearby. After the war, and Warren finished college, they moved to the Grand Rapids area, where she lived the rest of her life. Active in church and community, she taught a Sunday School Class for young women. One Sunday after services, Mr. Steketee asked if she would come to work for him, in his department stores, as a buyer of small accessories. That position with the company expanded and more and more accessories were added to her buying skills. Eventually, a Bridal Department was also added to Dorothy’s company responsibilities. One time during those same years, she organized “Get Acquainted” Coffees for a young man, running for a state office, by the name of Gerald Ford. She also campaigned for Michigan State College to become a university. She learned to use a computer during the early years of that technology and used that knowledge for her Church; North Park Presbyterian in Grand Rapids, writing weekly bulletins and other literature. Dorothy was a member of the Chi Omega College sorority and an active member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood. Let us not forget her loyalty to her favorite sports teams: The Detroit Tigers, The Dallas Cowboys...and the Wolverines. 

She leaves to grieve their loss: two sons, John D. Jacobs and his wife, Judy; Gene W. Jacobs; John and Judy’s two sons and their wives; six great grand-daughters; one great-grandson; and her sister. Preceding her in death were her parents, her brother, a grandson and a great grand-daughter. 

Services in North Park Presbyterian Church and in Galesburg, Illinois, are being arranged by her family.

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