A loving wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, a friend that could always be counted on, an organizer and coordinator with ample understanding and compassion, Marilyn Jacobs was a person of great love and virtue.

Marilyn was born to Allan and Donna (née Goldberg) Becker on June 1, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois. The youngest of three siblings, her older brothers, Howard and Lawrence (Corky) taught her early on the need for a certain toughness and a sense of humor in approaching life. She grew up in Austin, a section of Chicago, until she moved to Hyde Park when her oldest brother Howard received a scholarship to the University of Chicago at age 15. Anointed with academically vaunted “Becker Blood,” she graduated from Hyde Park High School and applied to several universities for admission. Although admitted at 
Northwestern, she was not eligible for on-campus housing because her Chicago home was “not far enough away from the school.” Instead, she accepted admission at the University of Michigan and made her appearance on campus in September 1952. The first Sunday night at school, cultivating connection and community, she attended a Hillel mixer where she met Marvin Jacobs, then a third year law student. The enjoyable evening blossomed into a courtship, consummated 3 years later in a marriage, which lasted for over 70 years.

Already a teacher in many respects, Marilyn became credentialed and taught first grade for several years before starting her family. Her three children, Mark (Collette), Julie, and Bob (known as Jake) (Heather Dinklage), were the focus of her life. A quintessential mom of the 60s and early 70s, she kept an orderly home distinguished by wholesome meals and a fine-tuned schedule, while frequently hosting friends and family for occasions of all kinds. 

After her children decamped the house as young adults, she was a clerk in the men’s furnishings department at Jacobson‘s department store. At that time, she also began study on a masters degree in counseling which she earned from the University of Toledo. Based on that degree, she worked for the Family and Child Abuse Prevention Center before embarking on a path of organizational development work.

Marilyn was committed to her community and served on a number of boards. A devoted member of Temple Shomer Emunim, she served as president in addition to exerting her influence on a variety of key decision-making committees.

Ever committed as a home cook of sumptuous family dinners, her name, along with her husband’s, Marvin, adorns the community food pantry they established in 2019 at the Jewish Family Service. Their namesake food pantry has provided food staples for over 5,000 families and counting in the Toledo area.

Marilyn’s great joy was her family and most especially the gradual arrival of all 9 of her grandchildren. For those that lived in the Toledo area, she provided carpool service, regular cooking lessons, corrective grammar lessons, copious trips to the Zoo, the Toledo Museum of Art, and a number of other adventures.

She traveled with her husband Marvin to many far off places around the globe, but always returned to Toledo which she called home.

Marilyn will be missed, but not forgotten. Her legacy will live through her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, all of whom will remember her as a paragon of competence, capability, and love. She was a lived example of nurturing, caring, thoughtfulness, and a trusted nature which she passed on to those whose lives she touched. 

A funeral service will take place at Temple Shomer Emunim on Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 11 AM. Following the service, burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery. After the burial, friends and family are invited to a luncheon of condolence and remembrance at the synagogue. 

The family will receive guests at Shiva on Sunday May 24 at The Temple, 6453 Sylvania Ave., from 3 to 5pm.