Beverly Baine Jacobs

Beverly Almarie Baine Jacobs passed away peacefully in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on March 18, 2020, and joined her husband, John D. Jacobs, on what would have been their 76th anniversary. She was 94 years old and was affectionately known as “Babs'' to her friends. A private family service was held on March 28, 2020, at First Presbyterian Church of Waco, with burial immediately afterwards at Oakwood Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at a later date at Covenant Living at Inverness Village in Tulsa. Babs was born January 5, 1926, in Waco, Texas. She was the daughter of William L. and Almarie Baine, who were the founders and owners of Four-C Business College in Waco. She was baptized and raised in the First Presbyterian Church of Waco. She attended Waco schools and was a 1942 graduate of Waco High School. She attended both the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a pre-med major and member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority (ADP). In the summer of 1943, she met her future husband, John D. Jacobs, who was stationed at Camp Hood and would serve throughout Europe during the Second World War. They were married on March 18, 1944, in Waco. While her husband was serving as a Captain in the Army during WWII in Europe, Babs remained in Waco to care for their family. Upon his return from Europe, they lived in Schenectady, New York; Dallas, Texas; and Austin, Texas. In 1952 they returned to Waco, where John partnered with Bill Cathey and formed Jacobs-Cathey Air Conditioning Company, of which he remained a co-owner until his retirement in 1986. During Babs’ life in Waco, she raised their family and involved herself with teaching both children and adult Sunday School classes at First Presbyterian Church, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, YWCA, and the Red Cross. She served on the Board of the March of Dimes and later was Executive Secretary for their Heart of Texas Chapter. She was an active member of the Historic Waco Foundation and helped in the creation of the Fort House Tea Room, which helped raise funds for Waco’s four historic Antebellum mansions. She was proud to call herself a Daughter of the Republic of Texas (DRT) and loved the fact she was a “Real Texan.” She often quipped, while living in Oklahoma, she was “on loan from the State of Texas.” In 2006, Babs moved to Tulsa to be near her son, Ted. During her thirteen years in Tulsa, she lived a very active lifestyle and immersed herself in learning the history of both Oklahoma and Tulsa. She was the kind of person who viewed a stranger as an opportunity to make a new friend. Babs will always be remembered for her feisty spirit, quick wit, sharp mind, a caring heart, and love of nature, especially birds and cats -- she always had a cat on her lap, even at the very end. In Waco, her hobbies included golf where she was twice Chairwoman of the Ridgewood Country Club Women’s Golf Association and had a hole-in-one at RCC. She was a member of the Forum Garden Club, the Herb Society and the Historic Waco Foundation (HWF), and was instrumental in the development of the docent division which helped HWF become accredited with the Museum Association of America. Other hobbies included baking, ballroom dancing, and volunteering for causes that either helped change lives or made a difference in them. She was an avid reader and bridge player. She was active in ADP Alumnae groups in every city she lived and served as the first President of the Waco Panhellenic Association. She enjoyed genealogy and keeping up with the Jacobs and Baine family histories. Babs was preceded in death by her husband, John D. Jacobs in 2003; and her parents, William L. Baine in 1972 and Almarie Baine in 1988. She is survived by a younger sister, Lynn Baine McCree of Blacksburg, Virginia; and three sons, John B. Jacobs and wife, Elaine, of Humble, Texas, Larry Jacobs and wife, Jody, of O’Fallon, Missouri, and Ted Jacobs and wife, Cathy, of Tulsa. She has six grandchildren, Jennifer Stone of Dallas, Christy Crowson of Lubbock, Texas, David Jacobs of O’Fallon, Justin Jacobs of Banbury, United Kingdom, Lesley Robinson of Austin, and Lara Searcy of Tahlequah, Oklahoma; in addition to twelve great-grandchildren. The family would especially like to express its sincere appreciation to Lynda Jacobs, of Tulsa, niece, and to the entire staff at Covenant Living at Inverness, in Tulsa. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either The First Presbyterian Church of Waco or in Beverly’s honor to the Landscaping Fund at Covenant Living at Inverness Village, 3800 W. 71st Street, Tulsa OK 74132, where she was actively involved in both creating and maintaining the beauty of the Inverness Village campus. The family invites you to leave a message or memory on our “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.