Stephen Norman Jacoby

01/19/1937 - 09/18/2025

STEPHEN NORMAN JACOBY, age 88, passed away peacefully on September 18, 2025 at his home in Bethesda, MD, surrounded by his children. Beloved brother of Do Rae Jacoby Rogalski (d. 1975), husband of the late Lucy Grady Jacoby (d. 2015), devoted father to Andrew (Amie), J.T., and Mary Margaret Murphy (Daniel), and grandfather to James, Grady and Kate Jacoby, Emily, Sean and Kevin Murphy. Steve also leaves behind three nephews, Donald, David and Daniel Rogalski and a cousin, Scott Dolinsky.
Steve was born to Bertram and Doris Jacoby on January 19, 1937, and grew up on the jersey shore in Margate City, NJ. He attended Gettysburg College before establishing residence in the Washington, DC area. Steve started his career as a sales representative at Eastman Kodak while also working as a cab driver. Acting on the valuable advice of his mother-in-law, Steve launched his own business as a Real Estate Broker and Appraiser and built a reputation as an honest and trusted expert during his fifty-year career.
Steve and Lucy were widely known in the Bethesda/Wyngate community, where he dedicated his energies to his children and friends by coaching Little League baseball, participating in YMCA Adventure Guides, teaching Math Lab at Wyngate Elementary, and assisting with the Booster Club at Walter Johnson High School.
Renowned for his culinary skills, he regularly hosted dinner parties and cookouts. Most memorable were his homemade sticky buns, along with his annual Gingerbread House parties. For decades, these gatherings became a treasured tradition, uniting multiple generations. Steve's antique fire truck was a key feature in the community, serving as the centerpiece for annual Christmas caroling rides.
He enjoyed spending much of his retirement with his companion, Nancy Swartz, at the family beach home in Margate. Deeply faithful, both were members, and later deacons, at the Margate Community Church.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at St Luke's Episcopal Church, 6030 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, MD on Saturday, November 22 at 3 p.m. The Jacoby family wishes to express their heartfelt gratitude to Ken, Allset Home-Health, and JSSA Hospice for their compassionate support and care.