Ruth Jacobs

Ruth E. Jacobs

Resident of Burlingame

Born in 1930 in Dubuque, Iowa, Ruth passed away at home in Burlingame on October 29, 2010 after a courageous battle with breast cancer. Raised in small Mississippi river towns in Minn. and Wis., she learned her traditional midwestern values there. Ruth was adventurous and active, and loved to fish and hike with her father. Proud of her heritage, she was a direct lineal descendant of Edward Winslow, a Mayflower Pilgrim and governor of the Plymouth Colony.

Ruth completed high school at 16 and graduated from St. Francis School of Nursing in La Crosse, Wis. The nurse at Michigan's Camp Nahelu in 1952, she met her husband, Robert, a camp counselor there. Ruth was the love of Bob's life, and he of hers. She relocated to Chicago where Bob was a sophomore at Northwestern Medical School. Ruth became head nurse on the orthopedic ward of Northwestern's Wesley Memorial Hospital.

Ruth and Bob were married in Chicago in 1954. They moved to San Francisco where Ruth worked at Notre Dame Hospital during Bob's internship. Bob joined the army, and upon discharge in 1961 the family moved to Burlingame. Bob practiced pediatrics until his 2005 retirement. Ruth was Bob's medical assistant and office manager, while nurturing her family and cultivating her garden.

Ruth was a Burlingame community activist and received the Burlingame Citizen of the Year Award in 2008. A trailblazer, she was Burlingame's first woman planning commissioner, serving for 23 years and as chairperson for five terms. Ruth was elementary and middle school PTA president and a Girl Scout leader. She co-founded the Burlingame Historical Society, was president of the Burlingame Homeowner's Association and a member of Peninsula Temple Sholom. Ruth loved her country, believed in the democratic process and volunteered at the national, state and local levels. She served on the Republican Central Committee and worked tirelessly on many elections.

Ruth was a people person and a dear friend to many. She believed in building a strong neighborhood. Ruth taught her daughters to work hard and do their best, give back to the community and live life for the benefit of others. She shared her love of gardening and green thumbs with her daughters and her neighbors.

Ruth's mottos were: Be positive. Stay active. Make do. She was an exceptional, accomplished and extraordinary person and will be missed greatly. She is survived by her beloved and adoring husband, Robert, daughters Victoria Jacobs and Lauren Jacobs Black, son-in-law John Black, her brothers John (Judy) and Louis (Carole), and many nieces, nephews and loving friends.

Internment was private at Skylawn Memorial Park. A tree will be planted in Ruth's memory at Burlingame City Hall. View photos at: http://tributes.com/Ruth-Jacobs-Burlingame Memorial donations can be made to the Burlingame Historical Society Museum Fund, P.O. Box 144, Burlingame, CA 94010, or the Historic Winslow House Association, Attn: Mark Schmidt, P.O. Box 531, Marshfield, MA 02050.