BELLA JACOBS

Bella Hertzberg Jacobs, a long-term resident of Bethesda and Chevy Chase, Maryland, died peacefully in her sleep July 20. Her family and friends celebrated her hundredth birthday in March.

Bella spent her early years raising her children and volunteering for the organizations she loved: the Literacy Foundation and the Brandeis National Committee. She was very active in promoting literacy and art throughout her life. Her passions were painting, participating in many book clubs and playing bridge.

Bella continued her education later in life. She received her master’s degree in 1970 from George Washington University at 62 and a doctorate in education from the Washington, D.C., branch of the University of Southern California in 1981. Getting the doctorate, Bella said, proved the adage that “one is never too old to learn.”
She began working for the nonprofit National Council of the Aging in 1972 and termed her years there as “the most creative period in my life,” working on educational opportunities, a library program and developing publications for older adults. Bella retired in 1987 and spent her last years in Bethesda. 
She is survived by three children, son Ronald Jacobs (Donna Klein) of St Helena Island, South Carolina, daughters Paula Jacobs Hesch of Miami, and Barbara Jacobs (Richard Mauer) of Anchorage, grandchildren, Jeffrey Jacobs, Rachel Nichols, Brian Jacobs, Brandy Romanek, Jason Hesch, Dana Hesch, Jessica Mauer, Michael Mauer; and great grandchildren Juliet and Harley Nichols, Ryan and Regan Romanek. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lewis Jacobs.
Graveside service will be held on Tuesday, July 30, 2019, at 10 a.m. at Gardens of Remembrance, 14321 Comus Road, Clarksburg, Maryland. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Brandeis National Committee. (https://www.brandeis.edu/bnc)