Jacob, Elizabeth Jane
Elizabeth Jane Jacob (Schriefer), 90, passed away at Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks, CA on May 2, 2023 after a brief illness. Betty was a sassy girl from Queens, NY whose street smarts were sadly under used in the not-so-mean streets of West Hartford, CT. After moving to the land of steady habits in 1962, Betty joined the West Hartford Newcomers Club where she formed lifelong friendships. She was a founder of the Gourmet Club whose membership rotated the hosting of evenings of epicurean indulgence characterized by thematic menus, flowing cocktails, and much hilarity. Betty was witty and intelligent - a reader and a writer. She was an avid crossword solver. Betty edited our college essays and our children's college essays. She wore full makeup and jewelry every day, and reapplied her lipstick before our Dad came in the door at night. Betty loved nothing more than a family get together, a glass of chilled chardonnay, and holding a chubby, cooing baby in her lap. She was a good friend and listener, empathetic and loyal.
Betty attended the University of Central Connecticut in the 1970's, and graduated with a Master's Degree in English. She left dinner preparation to her teenage daughters on the nights she attended classes, and the results were not pretty. She later taught at the University of Hartford as adjunct faculty in the English department. Betty had many interests over the course of her life. She took classical guitar lessons and mastered complex compositions. She wrote for the West Hartford News. She loved live theater, especially Broadway. She attended the opera and symphony at the Bushnell, and held a subscription at Hartford Stage Company. Betty was a docent at the Wadsworth Atheneum. She was an alto in The Sweet Adelines. Betty expressed herself in myriad ways, and taught us by example to follow our dreams, build on our strengths, and to be brave enough to turn a new page. In 1986, Betty and Bob bought Brook Farm Inn in Lenox, MA. They offered well known poets residence in exchange for poetry readings and teaching poetry workshops. They enjoyed Berkshire life, and took advantage of Tanglewood, galleries and restaurants, and the Williamstown Theater Festival. Betty and Bob traveled through Europe extensively, and highlights included the Paris Opera, eating New Year's grapes on a street corner in Spain, meeting Seamus Heaney in Ireland, and rail travel on the Orient Express.
Betty was predeceased by her husband of sixty years, Robert, her parents, William and Margaret, and her brothers, John and Billy. Betty is survived by her sister, Cathy (Michael), and their three sons, her cousins in New York and California, and her children: Paula (David) and their children Cali, Aaron, Clair, and Timothy; Alison (Bob) and their children Jerehme, Kaela, Jared, Mark, and Stephen; Steven (Adrienne) and their children Cara, Colin, and Ethan. Her grandchildren will fondly remember her lemon bars, wide selection of sodas, apple fritters, and sandwiches. Betty leaves eight great grandchildren. She was weeks away from meeting her ninth and tenth great grandchildren - twins. We are comforted picturing Betty newly arrived in heaven, cuddling them on her lap, the first of our family to meet them before their earthly births.
A memorial graveside service will be held on May 17, 2023 at Fairview Cemetery in West Hartford at 11:00 a.m. Donations may be made in Betty's name to Alzheimer's Association at https://act.alz.org.