D. Eileen Jacob, 102, Beloved By Family; Musician, Vocalist, Choir Director
D. Eileen “Pam” Jacob, 102, passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 27, surrounded by her daughter, Lynn, several grandchildren, and her current caregiver, Diann.
Eileen was born March 7, 1922, daughter of Frederick A. Palmer and Grace N. Miller, at Presbyterian Hospital, Newark, N.J.
She is survived by her sons, Gary (Lin), of Derry, N.H., and Bob (Dee), of Guilford, Conn., and her daughter, Lynn Gerckens (Karl), of Westfield, N.J.
Eileen has 11 grandchildren: VIK Keenan, Paul (Erica) Jacob, Amy (Jamie) Silverthorne, Stefan (Pin) Jacob, Katie (Andrew) Rappold, Jennifer Gerckens, Melissa (Kara) Gerckens, Chris (Lauren) Gerckens, Meggin Jacob, Maria Gerckens and Kurt Gerckens, and twelve great-grandchildren: Chloe, Cammi, Caine, Cassi, Carly, Kai, Jodi, Vera, Eligh, Westley, Holden and Cole. She also is survived by multiple nieces and nephews.
Eileen was predeceased by her parents; her husband, Theodore (Ted), and her brother, Arthur (Midge) Palmer.
Eileen, a 1944 graduate of Wooster College, Wooster, Ohio, met her future husband, Ted, while they were undergraduates together. Following their wedding, they headed to Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., for Ted’s Ph.D. in Chemistry, where Eileen worked to support her new husband and put him through school. Following graduation, they headed briefly to Roselle Park, N.J., Cranford, N.J., and finally Westfield, N.J., where in 1957 they built the home where they raised three children, entertained many friends and family, and where Eileen lived until the day she died.
Eileen was a lifelong musician, majoring in voice. She spent decades as a church choir director at various Presbyterian churches, taught voice to young and old alike, and sang as a cantor. Of all the various churches Eileen was involved with, the one most dear to her heart was Sanford Heights in Irvington, N.J., the church her father founded and led for many years. She also founded and directed a local four-part men’s group called The Vocalaires. They rehearsed for years in her living room around her piano while her children listened from their bedrooms or from the stairs as their bedtimes shifted later. She loved performance and was intimately involved with the New Jersey State Opera, spending many years as its president. This also provided her the opportunity to meet and perform with many Broadway greats, singing in multiple foreign languages.
Eileen was a lifelong member of the Musical Club of Westfield, and also had been attending performances at the nearby Paper Mill Playhouse for many decades.
In addition to music, Eileen had many hobbies, including baking; she was known for her pies and Christmas cookies, which she baked first with her parents, then with her children, and finally, loved baking with her grandchildren and inspiring them with the love of baking as well. She was involved in many activities with her grandchildren, including Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Boy Scouts.
Eileen also loved flowers — planting them, growing them in her multiple gardens, cutting them for flower arrangements, and finally, wintering them over on every window ledge in the house.
Eileen loved ballroom dancing and could frequently be found with her husband at any one of several dance clubs to which they belonged. She also enjoyed decorating the house for the holidays and collecting musical Hummels. There were many places Eileen loved and called home. As a high school and college student, she spent many holidays and summer vacations at her parents’ home in Lake Mohawk. She enjoyed many evenings dancing with her friends, and later with her husband, as well as on the boardwalk. She continued to bring her family to vacation each summer, to celebrate Thanksgiving with her parents in addition to many weekend visits. She remained steadfast friends with her co-lifeguards from her years working at the multiple beaches surrounding Lake Mohawk. They swam together, water-skied together, worked on their tans together, went dancing together, attended each other’s weddings, and in later years raised their respective children together.
Wanting a place for her children to experience what she had growing up, she and Ted began taking the family camping, initially in tents, then a tent trailer or two, and finally building their dream vacation home together at The Hideout, Hamlin, Pa. The Hideout was the source of many wonderful memories, especially the family Labor Day reunions, grandchildren learning to swim, going fishing, and learning how to water- ski. It was also a place for mom to grow her flowers, especially her tuberous begonias, which reigned supreme on the upper deck railings.
Eileen also had a love of travel, especially to Europe, the Caribbean, and ultimately Aruba. For many years, she and Ted vacationed with family and friends at the Playa Linda resort in Aruba. Her children and grandchildren are still enjoying the beautiful island of Aruba.
Eileen had a love of cruise ships, many European vacations, and even made it to Oberammergau, Germany, for the world-renowned Passion Play. In her final years, as she became less capable of enjoying the active lifestyle she was accustomed to, she dove ever deeper into her lifelong love of reading. She would often be found with a new book in her lap.
Eileen’s family will be welcoming friends on Friday, May 10, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., at Gray Funeral Home, 318 East Broad Street, Westfield, N.J., followed by a service at 12 p.m. Interment will follow in Fairview Cemetery, 1100 East Broad Street, Westfield. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in gratitude to the Musical Club of Westfield, with scholarship fund and Eileen Jacob on the memo line. Donations can be mailed c/o Gerry Shea, 2121 Princeton Avenue, Scotch Plains, N.J. 07076. Please go to www.grayfuneralhomes.com to offer condolences.
May 9, 2024
