Stanley "Buddy" Jacobs

1926 - 2020

Jacobs, Stanley "Buddy"
Stanley "Buddy" Jacobs passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of December 31, 2020, with Marjorie, his beloved wife of 70 years, sleeping in the bed next to his in the home they have lived in for the past 63 years.
Stanley was born on April 23, 1926 in New Haven, to Alice and Israel Jacobs. He graduated from Hillhouse High School in 1944, then attended Yale College for one year before entering the Naval Academy (class of 1948); he graduated in 1947 from an accelerated program. While at the Naval Academy, an upper-classman who thought Stan had the right physique, 'invited' him (military-style) to try out for the wrestling team. Despite having no prior experience in the sport, Stanley became a world-class wrestler. While he attended Yale Law School, he coached the Yale freshmen's wrestling team, and would likely have qualified for the 1952 Olympics had he not opted to stay home and start a family.
Stanley graduated from Yale Law School in 1950, the same year he met Marjie. He immediately went into law practice with his father and older brother Howard. Younger brother Richard joined the firm a few years later. In 1982, Stanley and his son Bruce, along with their long-time friend and paralegal Susan Guckert, founded the firm of Jacobs & Jacobs.
Stanley became the preeminent Connecticut trial lawyer of his generation. He twice broke the record for the largest personal injury award in the state. He pioneered the use of economists and day-in-the-life videos to show judges and juries the full extent of his clients' injuries. He inspired an entire generation of trial lawyers, always generous with his time and advice. He worked tirelessly for his clients. But there was no wasted time in the office: His goal was to get his work done as efficiently as he could, so he could get out to enjoy his family and the world. He was so proud when his granddaughter Allie joined the firm in 2014, to replace his daughter-in-law, Irene, also a member of the firm, who was appointed to the bench that same year.
Outside of work, Bud squeezed every ounce of pleasure from life. He loved sailing, skiing, photography, videography, music, art, movies, opera, fine food and wine, sports, and the New York Times crosswords. He also loved Italy, speaking Italian, traveling the world and documenting it with his professionally taken and edited videos set to music and narrated by Marje. He had a seemingly limitless repertoire of jokes and could tell them in a perfect Yiddish, Irish, Italian -- or whatever ethnicity the joke called for -- accent. And he especially enjoyed his beloved dogs, each one a stray or rescue. Nary a purebred among them.
Starting in 1968, he spent every summer with Marje at their house on the ocean in Nantucket. There they walked to the beach every day to swim in the surf and relax on the sand. He would read Dante to her in the original Italian. Every winter they would spend several weeks in Snowmass, Colorado skiing and enjoying the beauty of the mountains. In his later years, he also got to enjoy skiing and visiting with his grandson Kevin and family.
Stanley leaves behind his beautiful wife Marjorie; his brother Richard; his daughter, Dr. Lynn Jacobs (Jeremy Hyman) of Fayetteville (AR), and sons Bruce (Irene) of New Haven, and Daniel (Nancy) of Concord (CA); his grandchildren Kevin (Sara), Allison (Josh) and Jonah; and his great-granddaughters, Mika, Noa and Oren. He was predeceased by his brother Howard.
All of us who loved him will deeply miss him. But Stanley missed nothing. He never had, or ever needed a bucket list.
Private Funeral Services will be held. The Robert E. Shure & Son Funeral Home, New Haven is in care of Arrangements. To sign an online registry book or to leave a message of condolence, please visit: www.shurefuneralhome.com. Memorial contributions can be made to the Jewish Community Center of Greater New Haven (jccnh.org), Feeding America (feedingamerica.org), or Animal Haven (theamimalhavenct.org).