Lois Jacob

August 1, 1934 - October 22, 2017

Lois Jacob of Atherton, CA, died in her sleep on Sunday October 22nd, at the Palm Villas Memory Care Facility after a long illness. She was 83.

A Chicago native, Lois “Check” Checkers attended Francis Parker School, and later received a Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College in New York in 1955. Soon afterward she met Robert “Bud” Jacob, of San Francisco, who proposed just days later on the shore of Lake Tahoe. They married in Chicago in 1956, and moved the family to California in 1967.

Lois was the first franchisee of Gymboree Corp, running a successful play program for tots and new mothers at four centers across the East Bay during the 1980’s.

Known for her angelic singing voice, she performed in numerous musicals and plays, later forming a theatrical reading troupe to entertain Bay Area seniors.

Lois is survived by her husband Robert; sons Michael (wife Denise Meier, and daughter Liora) of Sebastopol, CA; Daniel (wife Michelle Sixta, and daughter Emma) of Larkspur, CA; Stephen (wife Dagmar, and daughter Marlene) of Berlin, Germany; and daughter Elizabeth (husband Duncan Wallace and children Maggie and Alexander) of Portland, OR.

The family suggests donations in Lois’ name be made to the “Alzheimer’s Association”, Northern California and Northern Nevada, 2290 N. First St., Suite 101, San Jose, CA 95131.