Obituary of Alice A. Jacob

Alice Ann (Bajek) Jacob was born in Yonkers, NY on March 25th, 1943 and lived 70 years of her life there. In 2013, she moved 50 miles North of Yonkers to South East (Brewster) into a condo where she didn't have to deal with stairs or take care of a big yard. Alice was an Aries and had their characteristic fiery personality. She was passionate with her beliefs and was a woman of her word. Her favorite color was red, which she swore was a "neutral" color that went with everything. (She even had a bright red living room / dining room rug for the 25 years she lived in her home on Cowdrey Street in Yonkers.) Mom loved to sing and dance, and had a very good voice especially when she was younger. I remember her joyfully singing along with Barbara Streisand records and holding her own. She sang and danced in Broadway at St. Bart's musical productions of Mame, South Pacific, The Pajama Game, Oklahoma, and Annie Get Your Gun. She was also a member of St. Bart's Folk group for over 30 years. Alice was very active in St. Bartholomew's Parish. She was a member of The Parish Council, and The Rosary Altar Society, where she served several terms as president and vice president over the years. Mom was an active member of the community in Yonkers until 2013 when she moved to South East (Brewster), NY. In South East, she quickly made friends and was very involved with various senior's groups and activities, including Tai Chi classes, ceramics classes, the Red Hat Women's Group, the Knit Wits group who make and donate knitted items for the needy, Seniors Helping Seniors where she taught basic computer skills, and attending St. Joseph's church. Mom loved tag sales and shopping and was delighted if she found a deal – a great quality item at a bargain price. Mom was an avid gardener, and always had beautiful flowers in her garden and home. She loved to sit by a fire place fire and watch the flames dance, dreaming about what the future may hold. She always loved and fed the birds and had favorites, like "big red" a large red headed woodpecker, the chickadees and cardinals in the winter, the yellow finches in the spring, and the hummingbirds in the summer. She loved deep sea fishing, listening to and watching the waves at the beach, and enjoying a lobster on special occasions. Mom loved throwing a good party and entertaining whenever she could. She enjoyed good conversation, and playing games. Many a night we would be sitting around the dining room table playing card games like Pinochle or The Penny Game, (Mom recently told me she was delighted to be learning how to play Poker from some of her new friends in South East – high stakes nickel and dime antes!) Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble, Boggle (OK my favorite game she tolerated!) and Pictionary where she always insisted on drawing a straight line across the page to give perspective to whatever she was drawing next. Many laughs and good times were had into the wee hours of the morning with family & friends on birthdays, holidays, special occasions and whenever she was in the mood for some company and fun. Alice was an avid Mets fan and New Yorker through and through. She loved chocolate – the darker the better, and no meal was complete without a small bite of something sweet. She enjoyed (and needed) her morning cups of coffee (don't talk to her until she was at least on the second cup!) and her evening cocktail – in the past Vodka over ice, more recently her favorite was B&B. Mom loved animals and we always had a variety of pets over the years - cats when Rich and I were kids, (Squeaky and Lucky were two I remember), birds (a yellow parakeet named Honey), furry teddy bear hamsters (Hermie and Henrietta who got loose in the wall), tanks full of fish, and then our family dog Panther – mom's faithful companion and friend for over 14 years. Mom was "grandma" to my doggies and was most partial to Mr. Spot and Ginger. (She mailed Ginger a can of green beans as a special treat when we moved to CA since she knew how much Gingie loves her veggies.) Mom was very thoughtful and generous, remembering the dogs on special days, and always brought them treats with her when she came to visit. She would toss bread and nuts out into the yard for the bunnies, squirrels, and critters who came to visit and was delighted to watch them as they came to nibble on the goodies she put out for them. She was my mining partner where for over 30 years we would work a claim and look for Herkimer Diamond crystals in upstate NY. We found many beautiful specimens over the years and were one of the only "mother/daughter" mining teams on the mountain. It was definitely a different sort of hobby, and one where we had many adventures, fun times and laughs over the years. Mom was a trooper and would try pretty much anything. She travelled alone on vacations if she there was no one able or wanting to go with her. And even though she was in her late 60's when she took a tour to Alaska, she eagerly tried and was thrilled by the zip line ride and a class 5 white water rapids experience excursion she took while there. Her friend traveling with her at the time thought she was crazy and wanted nothing to do with it. Mom went anyway and somewhere back home are the pictures to prove it. Good for her! Mom loved to cook and bake, and every Christmas we would have a cookie Bake-A-Thon where we would make thousands of cookies to give in tins to friends and family all over the country. She was very artistic, enjoying making things in ceramics, painting pictures on windows for the holidays and coming up with the perfect decorations in the home for each season and holiday. She collected Christmas ornaments wherever she went, enjoying recounting the stories behind each one as she found the perfect place for them on our tree. She was proud of her Polish heritage and always made an effort to keep the family traditions alive. When she was young, Mom was a member of St. Casimir's parish, where she went to grade school. She attended St. Claire's Academy and at the age of 55 she went to Iona College (while still working!) and got her BS in Computer Science, graduating Magna Cum Laude. We were all very proud of her! My mom worked her whole life…often multiple jobs at the same time if needed to help make ends meet. A few places she worked that I recall were at the San Roc Restaurant (hostessing and waitressing for big events), Patricia Murphy's (where she was the popover girl) Schaffer Foods, and Kane Miller (where she was an administrative assistant) before starting a long career with Kraft / General Foods where she was the assistant to the trade show and event coordinator. She loved that job since she got to travel and meet interesting people, like Jay Leno, before he made it big. Her last job was with Community Choice Heath Plan where she was their data base administrator, putting her college degree to good use. She retired at 65 and spent the past 7 years having fun, traveling, and spending quality time with friends and family. She adored her nephews and loved to set up kiddie pools and other toys for them to play with when they visited. At Easter she hid eggs for them all over the house and yard. She was always very affectionate and gave great hugs! Although Mom had been ill on and off for many years, she had been in good health for her and was on a "bucket list" vacation cruise to see Ireland and Scotland with me when things turned bad. We were In the middle of the North Atlantic, when we suspect a stent in her leg failed creating a circulatory crisis and heart damage. She was rescued at sea by an Irish Coast Guard helicopter that airlifted her from the ship and brought her to a hospital in Cork Ireland. I was able to speak with her briefly on a ship to shore call when she arrived at the hospital and I asked her if she could see anything while they were airlifting her. She said, "The view was amazing and the helicopter ride was so cool!" Mom had never been on a helicopter before so it was a last great adventure for her in her final days. (As a side note, the cruise path and port calls were following the footsteps and story of the Titanic, and our cruise set sail on 9/11 – what was she thinking?! Leave it to mom to go out this way. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.) Mom survived the initial surgery, but her heart was so weakened by the ordeal that she died several days later, with her beloved sister Janet by her side (and me still at sea). I am so thankful for the many prayers and positive energies sent by loved ones which I am sure assisted her in hanging on until Janet made it there, and then helped her pass over peacefully after the ordeal she had been through. She died on September 24, 2015 at the age of 72. Interestingly, September 24th was my brother Richard's birthday. So the date she had brought forth a life into this world was the same date she returned her own life to spirit. My Mom, Alice was the dutiful daughter of Mary and Boleslaw Bajek (from Poland/Yonkers), loving sister to Janet Bajek Lyons (of Ardsley and LBI) and Theodore Bajek (of Long Island and Chicago). She was the devoted wife to David Jacob, her first love who she married at age 18. She was the ever supportive and loving mother to Richard Jacob (of Yonkers) and me, Alethea Jacob (Yonkers, Brewster, and LA), doting Godmother/Aunt to Teddy Lyons, and beloved "Aunt Alice" to TJ and Mikey Lyons as well as to numerous nephews, nieces and cousins across the country. Thank you mom, for always being there for me and our family no matter what. Mom was a tough cookie who taught me by her example to be hard working, resilient, self-sufficient, kind to others, appreciative and thankful for the many gifts and blessings in our lives. She was my biggest critic and my greatest fan. I always knew she loved me, was proud of me and she did whatever she could to make me feel special. I honestly can't conceive of her not being here for me anymore. We were best friends, especially in the last 9 years since Rich died, and we did so many things together. Earlier this year she flew out to CA and we drove cross country back to NY so I could be with her on her birthday and then go on a spiritual pilgrimage together. It was the first time she had ever driven cross country and we got to share that special time and trip together, taking in the diversity and majesty of our country, with the help of Allen investigating sights we should see and places we should stay along the way. We called him "OnStar Allen" since all we had to do was call him as we were driving and he would find us whatever we needed. Thank you Honey! Alice was a supportive family member and would help anyone she could in whatever ways she had available to her. Even though she never had much, she would always share what she had. She would donate to the church, send money to animal causes and charities, and she even sent letters and care packages to a child/young woman in Guatemala for many years. She was a generous dear friend to many school mates, parishioners, and community members over the years and she was a woman who definitely made a positive impact to the many lives she touched. She will be very missed! 30 minutes before I got the call telling me Mom had died, I dreamed a dream where I saw Uncle Mike busily getting a reception hall ready for a big reunion party. It gives me a little comfort to know that all our loved ones in spirit were eagerly and joyfully preparing and waiting for you Mom. Mom had been keeping a journal during the cruise, and the very last entry she wrote after recounting what we had done and seen that day was "What a great trip!" I think that could be said of her life as well. She truly lived her life fully and on her own terms. I would normally say "rest in peace" but for you Mom, I think "put on your dancing shoes and have fun at the party" feels more appropriate. I miss you terribly. I Love You so much! I always will. Your heartbroken loving daughter, Alethea xoxoxo