Mitch Clarke wrote this column when he was executive editor of The Times in Gainesville. It originally appeared in print on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011, just a few days after John Jacobs died. Today, Mitch works at Jacobs Media as director of internet operations, where he manages AccessWDUN.com.
If you wanted to watch John Jacobs’ face light up, just ask him about his grandchildren.
There was no question that John was devoted to his wife and that he loved his son and daughter. But the real lights of his life were those seven grandchildren.
By the time I met John nearly six years ago, he had already retired — or what passed as retirement for him — from the media empire he built. Much of his lifetime of philanthropic work was behind him.
I had been here just a few weeks when I was invited to attend a Gainesville Kiwanis Club meeting. I sat next to John, and we talked briefly. I sat at the table with him ever since.
Through those lunches, I learned that he was a pioneer in the radio industry. I also learned of his significant community involvement, not just in Kiwanis, but in countless organizations from Brenau University to Grace Episcopal Church and the Northeast Georgia History Center.
I was fortunate to serve on the history center’s board with John when he was spearheading the effort to create the American Freedom Garden, which honors the region’s military veterans.
During that time, I saw first-hand John’s drive and determination, his passion for the community and his love for his country.
But I really got to know him in a more personal way — through high school football games, baseball games, basketball games and school plays.
Two of his grandchildren were in the same class at Lakeview Academy with my nephew, Tyler. Over the years, Tyler and the Jacobs grandchildren have been teammates, friends and even roommates. I’ve gotten to know them all through Tyler, and they’ve become special to me.
Not surprisingly, the man they called Bandaddy spent many hours on cold gymnasium bleachers or in darkened theaters, watching them perform.
He beamed when he talked of how one granddaughter was recently accepted into a very competitive physical therapy school and of how one grandson was now thriving after overcoming some adversity in his life. And he couldn’t wait to tell me when another granddaughter, who is one of my favorites, had landed a lead role in the school play.
Two weeks before he died, he brought two of his grandsons with him to Kiwanis. He proudly stood and introduced them as his guests. After the meeting, he watched with a huge smile as members of the club came up and greeted them.
Truth be known, John and I should have been competitors. Radio stations and newspapers compete for advertising dollars. They compete for news stories.
But he never once treated me like a competitor. Perhaps it was because of the connection I have with his grandchildren. More likely, it was just John’s nature. Southern gentleman to the core, John was unfailingly kind to me, unfailingly supportive of me.
He was always among the first to send a note when the newspaper published a major project or won a significant award. He copied me on emails he sent to our reporters, praising them for something they had written.
John loved to joke that I liked his grandchildren more than I liked him. That wasn’t true, of course. I do enjoy being around them, though. They are fun, they are smart and they are talented.
But moreso, I see a lot of Bandaddy in each of them.
They share his zest for life. They share his belief in striving to be the best. They share his commitment to his fellow man, his knowledge that we all have to work together to make this a community of which we can be proud.
For all of his business and philanthropic success, that might be John Jacobs’ most fitting and most lasting legacy.
