Georgia Eileen Jacobs

Eileen was born at home at Cross Mountain, Colorado which was a one family town. Eileen’s parents had the Post Office, General Store and Gas Station on US 40 about 45 miles west of Craig, Colorado. They homesteaded there just after their son Wayne was born in 1926. There was no electricity and no inside plumbing. There was a door going out of the dining room of the house that had a solid panel. That panel was replaced with glass so that Eileen’s father could see the gas pumps from the house. That panel was painted and made into a game board for Pollyanna (also known as Parcheesi) by a neighbor, Mrs. Labron. Eileen and her sisters played on that game board until the present day. Growing up, Eileen helped on the farm. She rode along on the tractor her sister Ruth drove to remove dirt to help build a cistern for storing snow for fresh water year round. The girls would return on the tractor with loads of sand to make the cement for the cistern from Lilly Park. They had horses, cows, goats, pigs and chickens on the farm. They grew potatoes, corn and wheat. Eileen’s father Frank Leslie Jacobs had a brand for the cattle F bar J that Ruth’s daughter Joanna uses as her cattle brand for Fifteen Mile Ranch, LLC.

Eileen and her brother and three sisters were schooled in a one room schoolhouse, first at Elk Springs, Colorado with fifteen children, then later with ten children in the Grange Hall at Cross Mountain. School was only offered until the eighth grade in Moffat County at the time. So that Wayne and Ruth could continue their educations, the family returned to Denver.

They left for Denver on July 21, 1943. That night, all five children had their tonsils removed in Craig, Colorado. The next day, they continued the move to Denver.

Eileen started school in Denver at Wyatt Elementary. Ruth was in eighth grade, Eileen was in sixth grade, Frances was in fourth grade and Dottie was in the second grade when they came to Denver. Eileen later attended Manual High School. She attended Barnes Business College, completing her course of study in accounting and began her life-long career at the head offices for Gates Rubber Company in Denver, Colorado. She worked in Accounts Receivables for the multi-national corporation that Gates had become, eventually being placed in charge of the department.

Eileen loved her job at Gates. She would be in bed every night at 9:00 so that she could rise at 5:00 to always be on time. That job allowed her to purchase her first car, a 1956 Chevy Bel-Air that she owned and kept in perfect condition for the rest of her days. She loved that car so much that she used to say that she wanted to be buried in it!

Eileen always lived at home with her parents and siblings. When Eileen’s father passed, her mother bought a home in Harvey Park and moved the girls to the suburbs. Eileen and Fran both still lived in “Grandma’s House” to the present day. It was easy to tell which room was Eileen’s- it was the one with everything in pink, including the paint! Eileen was a gentle, tasteful soul. Even when she dressed to do the grocery shopping, a chore that she loved, she was color-coordinated and everything she wore matched. Every Saturday night was date night with Phil for decades, a highlight of her week. They frequented places around Denver like Elitches Gardens for dancing. They enjoyed each other’s company but each always lived at home with their mothers. They talked of marriage, but somehow it just never happened until later in life.

Eileen loved to help with her sisters, nieces, and nephews when they were babies. Although she never had children of her own, Eileen played such an integral role in the lives of her many nieces and nephews, it was as if she was a second mother to them all. She and Fran helped frequently by watching them at “Grandma’s House” when they each were little, and later on did the same for their children- great nieces and nephews. The entire extended family members’ most cherished memories are of Grandma’s house where Grandma, Eileen and Fran would play with them, teach them and guide them. Grandma’s house was a lifelong refuge, and Eileen was a generous benefactor when any of the nieces or nephews needed a helping hand throughout her life. She helped many of them with first home purchases or with a rental home to live in when needed. She encouraged financial responsibility for each of those who she helped, but smoothed the way when that help was needed. Nieces Cathy and Joanna both worked at Gates early in their careers. Eileen even drove Joanna to work with her for an entire summer in college.

When the housing market in Denver was struggling in the early 1980’s Eileen began to invest in rental properties. She would acquire one and refinance as values improved and then acquire another. Those rental houses were on more than one occasion made available to family members when needed. Eventually, they allowed her to develop a piece of land that her mother had acquired in Conifer decades earlier. She dreamed of a gathering place for all of the family to be available to them for generations to come. Her “cabin” that she and Fran built is a remarkable octagonal five story structure high on a mountain in Conifer. It has for many years been a retreat for the entire family to enjoy. One of her greatest joys has been in hosting those family gatherings.

After her retirement, Eileen began babysitting in addition to managing her rental properties. Her sister Ruth had started babysitting after retirement working from her home across the street from Eileen and Fran’s home. Terri Ingram, a good friend of Diane Gill whose children Ruth watched, also needed a kind, reliable daycare provider for her children and found the perfect fit in Eileen. Terri’s son Peter remembered and loved Eileen so much that he sought her out during her last days to say goodbye.

Eileen touched many with her gentle, generous, caring nature and responsible, straight-forward manner. She will be greatly missed, especially by her sister Fran who was her constant companion life-long. They had their separate careers and separate lives, but never lived apart from each other.

Eileen passed from this life into the next at age 90 on May 30, 2021.

Eileen is survived by two sisters, Frances Arlene Jacobs and Dorothy Mae Martin, her niece Sandie Lilly, nephew Dale Jacobs (Donella Jacobs) and their daughter Molly, nephew Kevin Leslie Jacobs (Keri Jacobs) their children Sophie Emily Jacobs Mitchell (Isaac Benjamin Mitchell), Hannah Leslie Jacobs and Nicholas Leslie Jacobs, nephew James Daniel Sawyer’s children Timothy James Sawyer and his children Jayme Danielle and Wyatt James, Brenna Rose Sawyer (Andrew Christopher Graves) nephew John David Sawyer (Peggy Jo Sawyer), their sons Kevin Birka (Angela), their children, Steven Marshall Sawyer (Shelly Sawyer) and their sons Colton and Layne, Joanna Darlene Sawyer and her children Mark Meston, Alison Trimmer, Christopher Joseph Trimmer Sawyer, Veronica Marguarite Trimmer Sawyer (Brandon Robert Fisher) and James Thomas Trimmer Sawyer, nephew Craig Martin (Christy) their children Tyler Martin, Christine Martin Garcia (Joseph Garcia), their son Joe, Caitlin Martin (Skyler Williams), Darren Martin (Mary Martin) their children Colleen and Matthew, niece Cathy Laverne Martin Cullar and her children Trevor Dane Cullar and Tucker Martin Cullar (Andrea Cullar) and their children Riley Ann Cullar, Paisley Lynn Cullar and Bailey Mae Cullar, nephew Chris Leroy Martin (Vicky Jean Martin) and their children Launa Carolyn LaPorta, Catarina Nichole Martin, Jordan Taylor Martin and Jacob Lucas Martin and his children Samantha and Jak. Eileen was preceded in death by her parents Frank Leslie Jacobs and Waunita Marguerite Lucas Jacobs, brother Wayne Leslie Jacobs, sister Shirley Ruth Sawyer and nephew James Daniel Sawyer.

The viewing will be held at Olinger Chapel Hill Mortuary on Thursday June 10, 2021 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The service honoring Eileen’s life will be held at Olinger Chapel Hill Mortuary on Friday June 11, 2021 at 2:00. Graveside services will be held at Chapel Hill Cemetery at 3:00 pm.