“I am an idealist. I don’t know where I’m going but I’m on my way.”
Carl Sandburg
Shirley Jacobs passed away peacefully at the age of 94, after a short illness, on March 12, 2018 with her daughter Eileen Shaw by her side.
Born in August 1923 Shirley lived through the Great Depression and a World War. Her father passed away when she was 12 years old and Shirley lived with her mother Mollie, along with her two younger siblings Robert and Harriet. She married her sweetheart Joseph Jacobs, who soon after their marriage shipped off to fight with the 101st Airborne in Europe during WW2. Together they had 3 children; Martin, Eileen and Debbie and raised them in North Quincy.
Throughout her life Shirley was committed to service. She had coordinated on projects with Melnea Cass and was active in the Ladies Auxiliary of the Jewish War Veterans. Up until her final illness she was a familiar face at the front desk at the Quincy Kennedy Center, where she worked every Wednesday, had a smile for everyone and was an avid scrabble player.
As a young bride she began selling Tupperware as an experiment to raise money to donate to the Jewish War Veterans. After realizing success as a Tupperware dealer she moved up the ladder in the industry and ran Sandpiper Sales, a Tupperware distributorship in Randolph MA. She lived in Norwell MA and after retiring went on to establish a Friendly Visitor program for housebound elders at the Marshfield Council on Aging, a program for which she was recognized by the MA House of Representatives and State Senate for ten years of Outstanding and Dedicated Service to the Marshfield Center on Aging. She returned to school and earned an Advanced Certificate in Gerontological Social Policy from the University of Massachusetts and became a Member of the National Gerontology Academic and Honor Society of Sigma Phi Omega. The Town of Marshfield awarded her the Massachusetts Crime Watch Senior Citizen Award for her efforts in preventing crimes against seniors. In her fifties she achieved the lifetime goal of becoming a bat-mitzvah.
As a young woman Shirley was employed in the garment industry and her love of fashion never diminished. She wore a special pin with every outfit, a trend which she encouraged others to follow frequently giving them away when someone complimented her on one. She had a smile for everyone and remained active throughout her life, practicing Tai Chi and traveling abroad to Egypt, Cuba, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Spain and Greece.
In her own words:
“I am not a teacher, historian or writer.
I am a sister, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and regretfully, a widow.
I am a mother of 3, one son, two daughters, six grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. I am an elder senior blessed with a beautiful family.”
She leaves her siblings Harriet Snyder of Hudson MA and Delray Beach, her brother Robert Pann of Reading MA and Florida, her children Eileen Shaw, her husband Richard Shaw, Martin Jacobs and his partner Barbara Baratz and Debbie Jacobs and her husband John Lee.
She was proud of her grandchildren; Tara Shaw, Josh and Anita Shaw, Joseph and Lara Shaw, Matthew and Molly Jacobs, Adam and Sarah Jacobs, and Zachary Jacobs, and her treasured great grandchildren: Arianna, Dominic, Ellie, Graham, Jack, Lucy, Max, Owen, Quinn, Theo, and Vivian.
A funeral service will be held at the Stanetsky’s Memorial Chapel, 475 Washington Street, Canton, MA 02021 on Friday March 16th at 10 AM followed by burial at Sharon Memorial Park. Friends are welcome to gather with family after burial at the home of Martin Jacobs and Barbara Baratz. Guests may park in the designated visitor spots or along the fire lane in front of the building.
Memorial observance will continue Sunday, March 18, from 12-4 pm at Martin and Barbara's home.
Expressions of sympathy in Shirley's memory may be made in honor of her great grandson Dominic to the "DravetFoundation.org" or to the Kennedy Senior Center, 400 East Squantum Street, Quincy, MA 02171.
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