Alan Mark Jacobs, age 69, of Longwood FL, died Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022, after a long illness. He leaves behind a family that is grateful for having known and loved him including his wife of nearly 39 years, Elyse (Podolsky) of Longwood, FL; mother Marsha Jacobs of Longwood, FL; daughter Beth Jacobs and her husband Jason Lingenfelter; daughter Erica (Jacobs) Fox and her husband Eric Fox; and grandchildren Spencer and Madeline Fox, who already miss their “Poppy.” He is preceded in death by his brother Sheldon Jacobs and father Benjamin Jacobs.
Born in 1953 in Bridgeport, CT, Alan was drawn to media at a young age. He attended Norwalk High School, before moving on to the University of Connecticut for his B.S. in Education. He followed that up with an M.A. in Educational Media from Fairfield University. Alan was now poised for a lifetime in education and media.
Alan worked in educational tech for most of his career, spending much of his time at Sprint and Embarq. As with all his work, Alan’s focus was on improving education through technology.
In the 1980s, he taught media at Wayland Junior High School in Massachusetts, where his students affectionately called him “Mister Media.” His experiments in media were downright avant-garde, working with his students to make multimedia presentations and off-the-wall parodies of popular movies.
It was while he was a teacher in Wayland that the mother of one of Alan’s students approached him with an offer: Would he care to date her youngest sister? At first, Alan demurred. But he soon agreed. And coffee with Elyse Podolsky would turn into a friendship that would culminate in their marriage in 1983. The couple lived in Framingham, MA, Milford, CT and Kings Park, Long Island, before moving to Longwood, Florida, in 1992 where they raised their family.
Alan and Elyse Jacobs were best friends who shared many inside jokes and loved to dance. Sometimes Alan would sneak in a dance with Elyse around the house, and it didn’t matter that there was no music playing. The two just enjoyed being in each other’s arms. It was a true romance.
The Jacobs family flourished in Florida. There was no shortage of extended family there, and Alan found himself quickly inundated with in-laws. Alan was the unofficial photographer/videographer at family events and could always be found with the latest equipment recording family history.
His smile was infectious. He loved joking around, making bad puns and telling even worse jokes. He was always quick with an anecdote and drew people to him with his charm and wit. If you were with Alan, you were with a friend. He enjoyed playing basketball, racquetball and, most recently, pickleball. Alan was a fan of classic movies and the original “Superman” cartoon shorts, and shared his love of black and white films with the family. He was an active member of Temple Ohev Shalom in Maitland, FL.
Throughout his life, Alan was a modest man who enjoyed lifting up others, never insisting on taking credit. Alan enjoyed sharing the successes of his children and grandchildren with his colleagues.
Alan took true delight in his role as grandfather. He doted on his grandchildren and was delighted by their adventures. Whether it was a trip to Disney World or just playing board games at home, Alan treasured his, sadly shortened, time with them.