Doug Jacobs, 70, died April 19, 2022, at his home in Savannah after a long battle with cancer.
Born November 24, 1951, in Springfield, Ohio, to Cliff and Kathleen Jacobs, he graduated from Springfield Catholic Central High School and Wittenberg University, where he played for the national-championship-winning football team. He went on to graduate from The Ohio State University College of Dentistry and served four years as a dentist in the US Air Force. He married his wife, Linda, in 1981, and later opened his own dental practice in his hometown of Springfield, which he ran for 30 years before retiring to Savannah.
Beyond his work as a dentist, Doug had endless energy for his interests and hobbies. He was active throughout his life and was a dedicated distance runner and cyclist. He had a birthday tradition of walking a quarter mile for each year he had been alive. These walks became annual events on which he was joined by friends and family. Other interests included carpentry and music; he played the guitar, banjo, ukulele, and hammered dulcimer.
His enthusiasm extended to the people around him. He was known as a friendly and easy-going friend with a great sense of humor who could easily talk to anyone. In Springfield, he rarely went anywhere without running into someone he knew. After retiring to Savannah, he met many friends while walking around the neighborhood or playing his dulcimer in Columbia Square.
Doug is survived by his wife of 40 years, Linda; daughter, Katie; siblings Steve (Marcie) Jacobs, Marilyn (David) Fields, and Phil (Sonya) Jacobs; and his siblings’ children and grandchildren.
A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Bernard Roman Catholic Church in Springfield on August 27. Donations can be made to Catholic Central or St. Vincent DePaul.
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Stephen Roth
My sincere condolences to the family for your loss. Doug was a great fraternity brother and person.
Steve (Dayton) Roth. Class of ’75.
Susan Arvin
I’m am sorry to learn of his passing. I can only say what a wonderful person Dr. Jacobs was, and what a great dentist he was to all three of my children. We were heartbroken when we learned of his cancer diagnosis and that he had to retire from his dental practice. I remember the local newspaper wrote a story about Dr. Jacob’s with a picture of him riding a recumbent bike to work. He was friendly and seemed easy-going, and his office staff always had only the best to say about his character and his dentistry. He took great care of my children, and really listened to my concerns as a mother, and I will always be grateful to him for that.
A.J. (Bud) Gerathy Jr
I only learned of Doug’s passing today. Though we have not spoken in many years, the memories of good times with Doug in the Air Force remain vivid. We ran road races together (including the NYC Marathon), downhill skied in Michigan together, played guitar together, X-country skied together, and drank quite a few beers. He was a great mentor for me, both in and out of the dental clinic. Linda, Marilyn, and the rest of his family have my deepest and sincere condolences. He was a great guy, ( but you already knew that).
Marilyn Fields
Hi Bud,
Thank you for your heartfelt message and wonderful memories of Doug. We miss him so much…
I remember some of those special times in Kokomo.
I hope all is well for you.
Marilyn Jacobs Fields
[email protected]
Gary Goers
I was Doug Jacobs roommate our freshman year at Wittenberg. Really a solid individual. We weren’t close as such but got along very well, don’t remember ever quarreling (rare for a couple of 18-year-olds.
We didn’t hang out much, he liked to hang with his football team pals and I had buddies from the track team. But we did some stuff. I remember us borrowing two lacrosse sticks and a ball and going to the hollow behind Myers Hall to learn how to play catch with the sticks. We were both good athletes, but we were terrible with the lacrosse sticks. We got laughing about how bad we were and vowed not to join the Wittenberg lacrosse team
There is going to be a 50th anniversary celebration for the Class of 1974 this fall. I knew Doug had been practicing dentistry in Springfield and decided to try to contact him before the reunion when I came across his obituary. This makes me truly sad. Seventy is much too young for a vital personality like Doug to pass. My condolences to his family and friends.