David Jacobs

DAVID LLOYD EDWARD JACOBS

Cedar Rapids

David Lloyd Edward Jacobs passed away Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, at Wesley Enhanced Living, Doylestown, Pa., after having been diagnosed with ALS in December 2016. He was 88.

He was born March 6, 1929, to Barbara Isabelle Carson Jacobs and Lloyd Albert Jacobs of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As a young person, David was an active member in Boy Scouts, earning Eagle Scout in 1945 and continuing as a leader when his sons were in Scouts. David was a member of First Lutheran Church throughout his years in Cedar Rapids, graduated from Franklin High School and was active in All City Band and Orchestra and National Honor Society. David graduated from the University of Iowa in February 1951 with a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering and was a member of Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor Society) and Pi Tau Sigma (mechanical engineering honor society).

David spent his professional career working with General Electric and Ingersoll-Rand, followed by 27 years with Esso/Exxon, which took him to many places around the U.S. and the world, including one year in Sicily, and two in London with his family. Later in his career, he and his wife of 66 years, Alberta, lived in Brussels, Belgium, for two years. Following his retirement as chief engineer - machinery from Exxon in 1991, he and Alberta moved to Doylestown, where they had lived ever since.

David was married to Alberta Mueller on Aug. 10, 1951. They had five children, Christine Newman-Jacobs (Paul Newman-Jacobs), Mark Jacobs (Barbara Stewart), Timothy Jacobs (Michele DeRosa), Peter Jacobs (Carol Redfern) and Claudia Kranz (Paul), raising them in Schenectady, N.Y., and then Westfield, N.J. They were blessed with 13 grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren.

David enjoyed woodworking and antique cars, but he loved music, playing the violin in high school, college and community orchestras, including 25 years with the Bucks County Symphony Orchestra. During their married life, he and Alberta attended United Methodist churches wherever they lived. He always sang in the church's choir and was a leader in the children's music camp at Lehman Memorial United Methodist Church in Hatboro, Pa., which he and Alberta attended since 1991. David and Alberta always had a passion for outreach ministries focused on racial understanding, peace and addressing issues around poverty. He was a brilliant, creative, mechanical, artistic, athletic and friendly man who could talk with anyone. He believed that "if you just talk with people long enough, you will find a personal connection." His life was an example of that truth. As a result, he had friends and colleagues all over the world who respected and loved him. His interest in people and their cultures was so important to him that he and Alberta took all 13 of their grandchildren to different areas of Europe so that they would understand more fully the larger world we live in.

David is survived by his wife, Alberta; sister, Barbara Diane Jacobs of Cedar Rapids; his five children and their spouses; his grandchildren; and great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, at Wesley Enhanced Living, 200 Veterans Lane, Doylestown, PA 18901; and at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at Lehman Memorial United Methodist Church, 300 S. York Rd., Hatboro, PA 19040. The family will receive their friends from 9 to 10 a.m. at the church prior to service.

A memorial service will be held at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at First United Methodist Church, 1 E. Broad St., Westfield, NJ 07090, followed by interment in the church's memorial garden.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to the Lehman Memorial United Methodist Church of Hatboro, Pa.; the First United Methodist Church of Westfield, N.J.; or the Heifer Project, 1 World Ave., P.O. Box 727, Little Rock, AR 72203; or www.heiferfoundation.org.

Send condolences to www.varcoethomasfuneralhome.com.