Robert H. Jacob

Robert Henry Jacob, 81, of West Hartford, died at home in the care of his family and Hospice on March 10, 2013. Bob was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1932. He was a poet, a businessman, and an avid baseball fan. At the time of his passing, Bob had yet to forgive the Brooklyn Dodgers for their defection. Bob served his country during the Korean Conflict, patriotically using his athletic skills playing soccer in Germany for the U.S. Army Soccer Team. He married his high school sweetheart, Betty (Schriefer) in 1952, celebrating their 60th anniversary last June. The couple moved to West Hartford in 1962 to raise their three children. Bob was a lover of music and art and encouraged his family's self expression through the modeling of his own creativity - painting, drawing, writing, storytelling, adventurous music appreciation, and a large and relentless repertoire of jokes - both appropriate and inappropriate! Bob worked as Vice President of Sales for Hartford Office Supply until 1987. He was also an active member of the National Office Products Association. When Bob retired, he and Betty moved to Lenox, MA and became proprietors of The Brook Farm Inn. There Bob invited well known poets to read their work and lead poetry workshops - offering free room, board, and a spellbound audience. When Bob and Betty returned to West Hartford in 2002, Bob volunteered as a Reader of Loving Words at Branford Hospice, sharing poetry with patients and their families. Bob was the enthusiastic sole male participant in PIPs - Partners In Poetry. Bob was a dealer of poetry books, and he catalogued the work of Donald Hall for the University of New Hampshire Library. Bob published three books of poetry, The Day Seamus Heaney Kissed My Cheek in Dublin, Everybody Says Hello and Perspectives - Hospice Poems. Perspectives - Hospice Poems was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award. Bob is survived by his beloved wife, Betty; their three children and families: Paula and David Norton and Caroline, Aaron, Clair, and Timothy; Alison Jacob-Bour and Robert Bour and Jerehme, Kaela, Emma, Mark, and Stephen; Steven and Adrienne Jacob and Cara, Colin, and Ethan; and one great grandson, Beau. Bob is survived by his brother, Paul. He was predeceased by his brother, Thomas. Many grateful thanks to Mary Hebb and Gideon Nkansah for their loving care of Bob. A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 14, 2013 at the Chapel of Asylum Hill Congregational Church, 814 Asylum Avenue, Hartford. Burial will be private. Calling hours will be Wednesday, March 13 from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Taylor & Modeen Funeral Home, 136 South Main Street, West Hartford. If you would like to contribute in Bob's name: Masonicare Home Health and Hospice, 111 Founders Plaza, Suite 200, East Hartford, CT 06108 or masonicare.org. For directions and online condolences, please visit www.taylorandmodeen.com.