Sandy (McDowell) Jacobs, 83, of St. Joseph, Missouri passed away on Friday, November, 21st, 2025.
Sandy met her husband, Clarence (Bob) Jefferson Jacobs (d. 10/10/2024 at the age of 86), when they were ages 14 and 18 respectively, while Bob was in the Air Force and Sandy was a freshman at Lafayette High School. They became engaged at 15 and 19, and were married at 18 and 22 on June 24th, 1960, after Bob had completed his military duty and Sandy had graduated from high school. They were in love and married for 64 years, and blessed by three children, four grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren. Bob and Sandy were both members of Central Christian Church, but Sandy transferred to Community Christian Church nearer home.
Bob and Sandy were preceded in death by their parents, Lloyd and Myrtle (Jacobs) Nussbaum and Lowell and Helen (Brooks) McDowell; Bob's brother, Albert Leroy Jacobs; a daughter, Patricia Lee Jacobs; one grandson, Caleb Graham Smith; and one nephew, Gerald Allen Jacobs.
They are survived by a daughter, Cynthia Ann (Tayne) Smith of Overland Park, Kansas; a son, Jefferson Lowell Jacobs; and the mother of their grandsons, Dianna Lynn Jacobs. Their grandsons are Jefferson Lowell Jacobs II (Catherine) of Kansas City, Kansas; Matthew Edward Jacobs (Laura) of Grain Valley, Missouri; and Tayne Alexander Smith II, currently in the U.S. Army and residing in North Carolina. They are also survived by 7 great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren, nephew Mark Leroy Jacobs of Kansas City, Missouri, and niece Linda Ann Jacobs of Arlington, Washington.
Bob worked several years at Wonder Bread Bakery before moving to Wire Rope, where he was a Maintenance Mechanic for 32 years before retiring. He enjoyed attending his grandsons' ball games, from T-Ball through middle school, and followed them faithfully to cross country meets in high school. An avid coin collector and antiquer, Bob was a familiar face at local and area auctions. He spent a few days each November deer hunting, and while they had a camper, Sandy went with him to read, crochet, pick out walnuts, and cook for him, the grandsons, and a family they hunted with.
After the kids were in school, Sandy also returned to school at Missouri Western, earning her BS in Education, majoring in English and Social Science. Shortly after graduation, she was employed by MWSU in the Department of Education, the Computer Center, and finally in the Department of English, Foreign Languages and Journalism as Administrative Assistant. Bob retired after 32 years at Wire Rope, and Sandy Retired after 32 years at MWSU to spend the rest of their lives at home, gardening and canning, cooking and doing needlework, and establishing family traditions of hosting a Halloween bonfire-cookout for family and friends, passing out popcorn balls made with her mother's "secret recipe" and baking pies. She enjoyed traveling with her daughter Patricia to education conferences, and she and Bob both took family vacation trips with Patty and grandsons, including Branson in the Ozarks; the zoo in St. Louis; panning for gold in South Dakota; Elvis Presley Land in Memphis, Tennessee; and the Henry Dourly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska; and London, England. In all, Sandy made 6 trips to her favorite, London: twice with a co-worker, once with her mother, once with Bob, and twice with her two older grandsons and daughter, Patty.
Sandy has been cremated under the direction of Heaton-Bowman-Smith-Sidenfaden Chapel of St. Joseph, Missouri. Private family services and inurnment will take place at Ashland Cemetery in December.
In lieu of floral arrangements, memorial donations are suggested to be directed to St. Jude Children's Cancer Hospital in Kansas City or the Reading Program at Lathrop Elementary School in Lathrop, Missouri.
