Jeanne Blanche Gayrard Jacobs

Jeanne Blanche Jacobs, 98, of Hagerstown, died peacefully on August 19, 2024 after a full and well-lived life and just weeks before she would have celebrated her 99th birthday. Her remarkable and memorable life spanned two continents and almost a century. A woman of grace, charm, discipline, determination and moral courage, Jeanne Jacobs was truly a woman of valor.

Jeanne was born in Paris, France on September 22, 1925, the second child and youngest daughter of Sylvain and Fernande Gayrard. She spent her teen years in the city during the entire German occupation of France where she attended public schools and obtained her Baccalaureate degree in May 1944.

In June 1944 Jeanne left Paris by train (her first solo trip) to join family friends in central France. Unbeknownst to her and her fellow passengers, the Allies had landed on the Normandy beaches that same day. And so, a train trip that should have taken hours became a harrowing journey lasting close to two weeks during which time her family did not know Jeanne’s whereabouts or whether she was even alive. Although Jeanne eventually safely reached her ultimate destination, the ongoing disruption to national public transportation prevented her from returning to Paris in time to enter business college as planned.

In March 1945, Jeanne met Lt. Harold H. Jacobs (New York City native and member of the US Army Ordnance Corps) and so began a storied romance. In the fall of that year, she finally entered college. And, after a long-distance courtship – he in Nuremberg, Germany, she in Paris and Mécrin, France - Harold and Jeanne wed in the city hall of Paris’ 20th arrondissement in April 1947.

Jeanne, French “war bride”, arrived in the United States in July 1947. She and Harold traversed the U.S. as he fulfilled various duty assignments in California, Montana, Minnesota and Iowa. During this time the young family grew to include three children (their first child had died shortly after birth). In May 1950 in Great Falls, Montana, on the anniversary of VE Day, Jeanne proudly became a U.S. citizen. Jeanne actively valued and honored her rights and responsibilities as a citizen of her adopted country. 

In early 1953, Jeanne traveled back to France, three young children in tow and pregnant with her fifth, to stay with her newly widowed mother while Harold was deployed to Korea for two years. This would be the first of two occasions when Jeanne would guide her family as solo “at home” parent for extended periods of time. She again assumed this role when, approximately a decade later, in the early 1960’s, Harold was sent to Vietnam for two years as a civilian advisor to Vietnamese army officers. 

When Harold retired from active Army service and began his career as a civilian for the Department of the Army, the family of six moved to Silver Spring, Maryland, put down roots, and eventually became a family of seven. Jeanne found good friends among her neighbors, parents of her children’s schoolmates, fellow scout leaders, election workers and teaching colleagues. She flourished. She taught French in the nascent Foreign Language in Public Schools program. Jeanne cultivated and perfected her celebrated cooking and baking skills for which she is still remembered. During this time, on her own or with family and friends, Jeanne took full advantage of the proximity to Washington, DC to appreciate and explore its history, museums, monuments and cultural offerings.

After Harold retired, Jeanne and Harold moved to Hagerstown in 1974. A new community where they once again created a welcoming home and continued to raise their youngest child. Jeanne commuted to College Park and obtained a B.A. and M.A. with honors from the University of Maryland. After Harold’s death in 1984, Jeanne became the French teacher at Williamsport High School. Upon retiring from the county school system, she taught French and English to the engineers at Mack Truck, taught French and tutored at Saint James School and taught French and French cooking at Hagerstown Community College.

Over the years, Jeanne and Harold opened their Hagerstown home to multiple generations of her French family. Without fail these visitors were treated to entertaining and well-researched tours of Washington DC and historic sites in Maryland and Virginia. These family visits continued for many years after Harold's passing. After Harold's death Jeanne spent many summer vacations in France, always to visit her mother but now, with the additional time, she also traveled the country in search of her family's long history and to reconnect with family and friends not seen since her youth. Hagerstown friends often joined Jeanne on her trips to France and she introduced them to parts of Paris and other French locales not normally seen by the average tourist.  

Jeanne was a long-time and active member of Congregation B’nai Abraham. She served as president of the sisterhood, chaired numerous synagogue committees and initiated the Jewish Food Festival. She became the first woman president of the Hagerstown congregation. 

Her culinary and entrepreneurial skills successfully blended when she and friend Carol Mendelsohn opened their boutique catering business, Taste and Elegance.

She wrote frequent letters to the editors of The Herald Mail and The Washington Post to voice her thoughtful positions about diverse subjects and events. Jeanne’s own life was so rich in unique experiences and talents that she was also often the subject of printed articles and interviews.         ( https://drive.google.com/file/d/12TE0bl0Rofyq7unXsfcMV0oJo_s47ECf/view?usp=drive_web ) In September 2009 Jeanne traveled to Minneapolis, MN to attend the première of Bert & Ernie, Goodnight!, a play written by her son-in-law, Barry Kornhauser and produced by the Children’s Theatre Company. During that visit, she was also able to visit her friend, Louise Dillery, who lived in Minneapolis. Jeanne and Louise were both born in Paris and had attended schools in neighboring arrondissements during the German occupation. Both had met and married US soldiers at the end of WW II and both began post- war lives with their respective husbands and families in the United States in different states. But they connected with one another, quite by accident, decades later, when both women were independently traveling in Paris. Jeanne and Louise shared their similar stories when they were interviewed on Bonjour Minnesota on KFAI Radio during Jeanne’s visit to Minneapolis. Enjoy the French music and the memories shared by the two Parisiennes, Jeanne and Louise.

For almost a decade, while she was in her seventies, Jeanne served as a volunteer at Washington County Hospital.  

Jeanne wrote a two-volume autobiography, “telling our story, Harold’s and mine” which she self-published and gifted to her children. These volumes, rich in family history and illustrated with family photos and historic images chronicling the momentous years of Jeanne’s life, are now treasured reminders of a very special and accomplished woman. 

She is survived by daughters, Michèle Jacobs (Joe Bowen), Carol Kornhauser (Barry), Jennifer Strelser (Marc), and son, David Jacobs. She is also survived by daughter-in-law Denise and by grandchildren Lauren, Max, Katie, Sam, Ariel, Hannah and Nathan and three great grandchildren. Jeanne was predeceased by her beloved husband, Harold, her parents Fernande and Sylvain Gayrard, her sister Suzanne Artigues, and by sons François, who died in infancy, and Roger (Denise). Jeanne also leaves behind an extended family of nieces and nephews in France who have cherished her as their Tante Jeannette.  

Graveside services and interment private. Arranged by Andrew K. Coffman Funeral Home and conducted by Rabbi Cantor Mark Perman, Congregation B’nai Abraham.

A celebration of Jeanne’s life for her family, friends, colleagues, students and caregivers will be held Sunday, September 8, 2024, from 11:30 am – 2:00 pm (remembrance remarks at noon) at the Andrew K. Coffman Funeral Home 40 E. Antietam Street Hagerstown MD 21740.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation in Jeanne’s memory to the Jeanne Jacobs Fund or another synagogue fund at Congregation B’nai Abraham (www.bnaiabraham.net; Congregation B’nai Abraham 53 East Baltimore Street Hagerstown, MD 21740) or to a charitable organization of your choice.