Dwight Robert Jacobs

NORTH LIMA, Ohio – Dwight Robert Jacobs, 99, died on Monday, April 6, 2020, in hospice care after a brief illness.

Dwight was born on March 7, 1921 in Somerset, Pennsylvania. He was the sixth of 11 children of Paul and Trella (Risch) Jacobs. He graduated from Johnstown High School in 1939. During World War II, he served in Civilian Public Service from 1941-1945, initially as the personal secretary for the Western Regional District of CPS and later in Florida.   After the War he attended Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana, graduating with a B.S. in Education in 1949. He earned an M.A. in Education from Westminster College, Pennsylvania, in 1964.

On May 5, 1946, Dwight married Mildred Larue Basinger, whom he met at a CPS camp in Terry, Montana, where she was working as a nurse.  She preceded him in death on May 21, 2002.

Dwight taught high school, was a school psychologist, and was a guidance counselor for many years at Poland Seminary High School, Poland, Ohio. As many schoolteachers of that era did, Dwight supplemented his teacher’s salary with a variety of work. He taught drivers education to several generations of student drivers. He was also a property casualty insurance agent in business with his father-in-law, Henry Basinger, with Mennonite Mutual Insurance and Nationwide.

Dwight was a member of North Lima Mennonite Church in North Lima, Ohio where he was an enthusiastic organist for over twenty years as well as a Sunday School teacher and Superintendent.  He was an active member of the Beaver Ruritan Club in North Lima.  Dwight was an avid photographer, naturalist, and birder.  He bought his first Brownie camera at the age of 12 and enjoyed photography his entire life. As a young man, he worked as a professional photographer in DuPont Studios in Johnstown.  He loved the outdoors, and volunteered for many conservation and environmental organizations, including Laurelville Camp in Pennsylvania, Boardman Park, and Mill Creek Park in Youngstown.  Dwight had a heart for helping others and gave his time serving meals at the Rescue Mission, working as a tour guide at Echo Global Farm in Fort Myers, Florida, and volunteered several days a week at Gator Wilderness Boy’s Camp, Punta Gorda, Florida. He delighted in music, telling corny jokes, gardening, traveling, constructing miniature replica displays, and playing card games.

Dwight retired to Sunnybreeze, Florida following his wife’s death, and lived there until 2017 when he returned to North Lima, Ohio.

Dwight is survived by son, Bruce Jacobs, Olympia, WA; son, Carl (JoAnn) Jacobs, Aiea, HI; daughter, Eileen (David) Stewart, North Lima, OH; son, Stanley R. Jacobs, East Palestine, OH; and son, Randall (Rachel Miller) Jacobs, Goshen, IN; eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren and one step-grandson.  He is also survived by sisters, Twila, Dorothea, and Roma; and brothers, Arnold and Duane.

Dwight was preceded in death by a son, Terry A. Jacobs, a grandson, Brandon R. Jacobs, brothers, Donald, Willard, Gerald and Merle, and sister, Erma, and step-grandchildren Brent Schroeder and Cirenya (Schroeder) Rose.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the family will hold a memorial service at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made in Dwight’s memory to Rescue Mission of Mahoning Valley,  962 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Youngstown, OH 44510 or online at www.rescuemissionmv.org

Sign the register and send condolences at www.familycareservices.com  Professional arrangements were made by the Warrick-Kummer-Rettig Funeral Home, Columbiana.