Joan T. Jacoby

JOAN T. JACOBY October 18, 1930 – February 20, 2025. 

Joan was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, to Dr. G. Ernest and Mildred Thomas. When she was 15, she met her future husband, Walter, at the Silver Bay YMCA Conference Center, on Lake George in New York. They married in 1952 and honeymooned in South Hero, VT, on Lake Champlain. Both Silver Bay and South Hero would become important places to the family. 

Joan received her BA in Sociology from Drew University and worked as a hospital social worker after college. Joan and Walt raised four children while Walt’s YMCA career led them to New York, New Jersey, Ohio, West Virginia, and Beirut, Lebanon. 

Joan lived a life of service. For 65 years, she was a loving and dedicated wife and partner in her husband’s career. She was a Girl Scout leader for several years. While in Lebanon, she frequently hosted YMCA volunteers, providing them with a home and support. When they moved back to the States, Joan worked to support unwed pregnant teens as a house mother, a driver, and an informal counselor. Joan also volunteered for Planned Parenthood for many years. She was an EMT when she lived in NY. She was the consummate hostess, always welcoming whomever her husband or children invited home.  

Joan and Walt joined Penney Retirement Community in Penney Farms, Florida in 1999. Joan became a “super volunteer”: serving meals to Assisted Living residents, painting hand-operated carts with Mobility Worldwide (PET), helping others with their taxes, serving as the chairperson for the annual CROP walk, and serving as a volunteer coordinator at the Fitness Center. When Walt died in 2017, Joan missed one week of volunteering and then was right back to her regular activities. Joan was well known for hosting social hours for friends and newcomers. 

Family was very important to Joan. She was an amazing, supportive mother and grandmother. She and Walt enjoyed camping, bicycling, sailing, and traveling with family and long-term friends. They also had a lifelong love of playing games, especially bridge. They vacationed in Vermont with extended family almost every summer for over 60 years.

Joan and Walt had a passion for traveling and learning about other cultures. They traveled to over 30 countries on 5 continents, often with family and friends. They organized and led YMCA cultural exchange trips to China. 

Friends and family described Joan as very social, caring, and determined, noting that she was always reaching out to others and always welcomed friends and family into her home. 

Joan is survived by her four children and their spouses: Susan Jacoby and Susan Baumgardner, Gail and Dave Orser, Nancy and James Aman, and Russell and Barbara Jacoby; her five grandchildren and spouses: Christopher Jacoby and Zoelle Egner, Matthew Jacoby, Joshua Aman, Timothy Aman, Beth Aman and Mikael Ellingson, and great granddaughter Anieve Jacoby. Joan is also survived by her brothers, Norman and Donald, and numerous nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her husband, Walter, her parents, and her sister, Carol.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Penney Farms, Florida, on the Pavilion patio, overlooking the pond, on Friday, February 28th at 3:30 PM. Immediately following, everyone is invited to a “Social Hour” in memory of Joan, in the adjacent Pavilion Activity Room. The address of the Pavilion is 3465 Caroline Blvd. Internment will be in New York this summer.  

In lieu of flowers please consider remembering Joan by donating to Mobility Worldwide (PET) or the Penney Farms CROP Walk. Organizations that Joan and Walt supported for over 20 years.

Link to PET: FL - Penny Farms - Mobility Worldwide® https://mobilityworldwide.org/affiliates/florida-penney-farms/

Link to Crop Walk: Penney Farms CROP Hunger Walk https://events.crophungerwalk.org/crophungerwalks/event/penneyfarmsfl