Ronald Neil Jacobi

Ron Jacobi, 77, passed away on Sunday, March 16, surrounded by family, having heroically fought a 10 year battle with Melanoma. Loving husband to Carol, exceptional father to Elizabeth (Keven) and Andrew (Gretchen), wonderful brother to Sue, devoted grandfather to Remy, Maeve, Viggo and Mocha.

Born in Queens to Elaine and Menahem Jacobi, Ron attended Queens College before transferring to Temple University, where he earned his Bachelor's degree and graduated at the top of his class. It was at that time that he met Carol and their 56 year long loving partnership began. Ron would go on to graduate from NYU Law School and he remained a proud, respected and active alumnus.

After a few years in private practice in New York , Ron, Carol and baby Elizabeth packed up their Manhattan apartment and headed west to Los Angeles, where Ron became one of the most influential legal minds in Hollywood, spending 17 years at Columbia and then Sony Pictures rising to General Counsel and another 19 years in private practice. His impact on the legal aspects of the movie business was significant.

Ron took great pride in the highly successful career he built, but even more so in the family that he and Carol created. Weekends were a cherished time for Ron, spent driving Liz and Andy to horseback riding, soccer games, baseball games and tennis tournaments. Ron and Andy shared a passion for food, and the two loved to plot out where they would go for lunch in between tennis matches on tournament weekends. In more recent years Ron and Elizabeth took daily walks with Mocha around their Pacific Palisades neighborhood.

The home Ron and Carol built in Pacific Palisades (which was recently destroyed by the Los Angeles fires) was a warm and welcoming place for friends and family. They loved to host celebrations, and Ron was at his happiest surrounded by his loved ones while they enjoyed his conversation shaped by his honest opinions. He also loved making Manhattans and many friends referred to him as the best Manhattan bartender.

Ron will be dearly missed by all who knew him.

Funeral Services will take place at Riverside Memorial Chapel, 333 Amsterdam Avenue, NYC, Sunday, March 23, 10am. Burial to follow at Wellwood Cemetery, 1500 Wellwood Avenue, West Babylon, NY 11704.

The family will sit shiva on Sunday following the burial and again on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 3-7pm at the Jacobi apartment. Instead of the traditional minyan, we ask that people share a memory of Ron.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Ron’s memory to one of the following:

- The research efforts of Dr. Dimitris Placantonakis at NYU Langone Health. Donations can be made online at: giving.nyulangone.org or by calling Heather MacLean in the office of development at 212-404-3661.

- Make a tribute donation to support the melanoma research of Dr. Antoni Ribas at UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center: https://www.uclahealth.org/cancer/giving/ways-give/donate