Joan Marian Jacobson

Joan “Joannie” Jacobson was born April 6, 1939 in Greensboro, North Carolina to Laura and Sol Weinstein. She lived a beautiful childhood in Greensboro as the devoted sister to her older brother, Robert and “baby” sister, Nancy, where she was also surrounded by aunts, uncles and cousins. Joan went on to major in music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, studying to be a concert pianist. Her tremendous talent for music was surpassed only by her love and need to be with people, and she eventually switched to majoring in business.

Joan had a “big city” spirit with the charm and grace of a southern girl. Following a brief stint in Atlanta, she set her sights on New York City where she worked as an executive secretary and reveled in the culture and energy that the city offered. It was on a fateful vacation to a resort in New Hampshire that she would meet the love of her life, Herb Jacobson. The two courted long distance for only 2 ½ months (mostly through letters) and enjoyed just 4 in-person visits together before marrying in November 1965, in the living room of her childhood home. Their married life began in Cincinnati, Ohio, soon welcoming Marci and Mark into the family. Herb’s job took them briefly to Fairfield, Connecticut before moving to Peoria, Illinois, where they spent the majority of their child rearing years. In addition to serving as a devoted mother and wife, Joan used her love of music to create a program for the Peoria Symphony Women’s League to introduce elementary school children to the instruments in the orchestra. She was a natural teacher, and her enthusiasm was contagious. Joan went on to earn her broker’s license and worked tirelessly to help her clients find just the perfect home. For her, it was always personal. Joan continued her work as a real estate broker after the family moved to Milwaukee where they spent most of the remainder of Herb’s working years. She and Herb enjoyed 17 years of retirement at a beautiful Dell Webb community in Surprise, AZ before moving to Chicago in 2016 to be near family.

Joan often spoke of wanting to leave her mark, to use her life to make a difference. Her life’s work can best be found in the countless lives she touched, and made better, just by having known her. She graciously shared her thoughtfulness, love, kindness and compassion with friends, family, pets and strangers…every single day. Joan never missed an opportunity to offer a compliment, to send a meal, to celebrate an occasion, to acknowledge a kindness with a tin of delicious baked goods, to comfort, to laugh, to care for an animal, and most of all, to listen. In later years, one of her proudest roles was that of grandmother where she served as a role model, caregiver, treasured confident and “partner in crime”. Although she faced years of physical adversity, she greeted each day with a positive outlook, strength, resilience and grace. She loved fiercely and laughed with great ease and joy. She never said no to opportunity or adventure and lived each day to its fullest. Sometimes in life, you meet those special people who light up a room with their positive and cheerful spirit. That was our “Joannie”.

On Saturday, December 25, 2021, Joan was blessed to have passed away with family at her side. Joan is survived by her devoted husband of 56 years, Herb Jacobson; daughter, Marci (Howard) Kreiner; son, Mark Jacobson; and her beloved grandchildren: Aaron, Rachel and Jordan. She is also survived by her brother, Robert (Adele) Weinstein and sister, Nancy Bernstein, along with numerous devoted nieces and nephews.

In remembrance of Joan's remarkable life, we will be holding a memorial service via Zoom this coming Thursday, December 30, 2021 at 2:00pm CST. Although we will greatly miss having everyone gathered in person, we are so pleased to have the opportunity for us all to join together virtually. The link for the service is as follows: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89568766095?pwd=dzZBellLSWxpMEhQMi9QR20rcDBtZz09

Joan cared deeply about the welfare of all people and animals alike. We request that any contribution made in her memory be directed to Pet Partners (petpartners.org). They are the national leader in demonstrating and promoting the health and wellness benefits of animal-assisted therapy, activities, and education.