Mike was a great guy. He was someone who was special. I can remember in 3rd grade walking home from Hebrew School with Mike when he explained the "facts of life" to me. May he always rest in peace.
I had a big crush on Mike in the 8th grade; I thought he was so handsome and fun. I used to go to his father's deli at Friendly Shopping Center in hopes that he would be there. So sad that he's gone.
I grew up three doors away from Mike and we were best friends for many years. He was the fastest human I ever ran against. He was rabbit-quick. His parents treated me like one of their own kids and I enjoyed many meals with them and Mike and I would often go to Jays and get one of those fantastic Atomic Subs. When we were teenagers we would steal a pack of cigarettes from Jays and go into the woods near our houses and get sick from smoking them.
That he and another classmate, Ronnie Brown, died so young (30's) hit me very hard. Both of them lived on my block of Cornwallis Dr. and we played all sports together. I think of them both often.
Thank you for the very moving comments about my cousin, Mike! He was the true love of my life!!! He got me in so much trouble at family gatherings because I couldn't stop laughing at his antics... Not to mention how I ended up in the principal's office at Brooks for uncontrolled laughter brought about by Mike. And for those of you in our kindergarten class at Brooks... remembering how, with his leadership and example, we all ended up standing on our desks while Mrs. Kiefer was out of the room and we all had to march up the hall to the principal's office. He still makes me smile😊
I came into Brooks School late in the 4th grade year and I met Johnny Markham and others. I had been living in Alabama where the only sport was football! I had NEVER seen a basketball. I remember that Ken Siler and I were the last ones picked for teams because we were the worst players.
Moving to 5th grade.....I met Buddy Powell because he lived across the street from my aunt. We ended up in the same class along with Mike Jacobs. The three of us must have been a problem for our new first year teacher because I recall that we had to stay after school A LOT! I also got my first paddling from her.
On the pleasant side....I wish someone could re-create the Jay's Sub. Mr. Sol Jacobs was a wonderful man and I ate a truck load of his $1 subs and Mason Specials over the years.
I remember when Steve Blackwood called me that winter in 1989 to tell me Mike was not doing well.After speaking to Mike later I was struck by how he tried to comfort me during my discomfort discussing his illness.Mike was always a friend and we shared many adolescent misadventures and remained friends after college. During the draft lottery 1969 Mike went in the service stationed in New Jersey playing his horn for 2 years before completing Law at UNC .Mike, John Higgins,and l lived together 1969-1970 at Granville Towers in Chapel Hill. Mike , you were one of the guys and l miss your humor and wonderful sarcasm!!
One day we were on the playground in the fifth grade. Mike was being really obnoxious telling everybody what to do so I hollered: "Cut it out Mike, you are acting like this crazy little Jew." Suddenly everyone else became silent and backed away. Mike came toward me, then gave me a big hug, which was a very weird thing to do at that point in time. He said: "I can't tell you how totally on target you were just now. A lot has been going on at home, and you hit the nail on the head. I can't thank you enough." Milke was really good at sports, and I definitely was not, so we were not buddies day to day, only allies in the classroom, where we were often similarly critical about too much propaganda from teachers. Then in the 9th grade one day after lunch Mike came up and reminde me of that incident from the 5th or 6th grade, saying that I was the only one who realised the significanc of his Jewishness, and he appreciated it.
Amy Murry was my date for the Senior Prom, and during the dance we fell into conversation with Mike and his date, his first cousin Sylvia. Again Mike reminde me of that moment in the 5th grade, and again he said that he really enjoyed having a gentile friend who seemed to understand what it was like to be odd man out as a Jew in our world. I never saw Mike again until 1975. My family was living in Chapel Hill, and I was home briefly from my adventures in Afghanistan. The first day after my arrival at home with my first wife my mother said that Mike Jacobs was comeing over, that he had called and found out when I was arriving. We sat out on the front porch on a summer afternoon. Mike said that he wanted to see me this last time. He had prostate cancer and would be dead in a few weeks, but he wanted to tell me one last time how much it had meant to him that I understood and acknowledged his Jewishness, acceptec him for who he was. By this time I had had years of studying Hebrew and had spent considerable time in Israel, though most recently I had been speaking a lot more speaking Pharsin and traveling in Iran and Afghanistan.
When Mike spoke with me before his died he said that he had been drafted. The army often used Jews and Blacks to do unpleasant and dangerous tasks, and Mike had spent time in the army moving stocks of nuclear waste. This he felt was most likely was the source of his cancer.
Gary Smith
Mike was a great guy. He was someone who was special. I can remember in 3rd grade walking home from Hebrew School with Mike when he explained the "facts of life" to me. May he always rest in peace.
Gary Smith
Nancy Pinson (Goldstein)
I had a big crush on Mike in the 8th grade; I thought he was so handsome and fun. I used to go to his father's deli at Friendly Shopping Center in hopes that he would be there. So sad that he's gone.
Nancy Pinson Goldstein
Jerry Forsyth
I grew up three doors away from Mike and we were best friends for many years. He was the fastest human I ever ran against. He was rabbit-quick. His parents treated me like one of their own kids and I enjoyed many meals with them and Mike and I would often go to Jays and get one of those fantastic Atomic Subs. When we were teenagers we would steal a pack of cigarettes from Jays and go into the woods near our houses and get sick from smoking them.
That he and another classmate, Ronnie Brown, died so young (30's) hit me very hard. Both of them lived on my block of Cornwallis Dr. and we played all sports together. I think of them both often.
Sylvia Jacobs (Curtis)
Thank you for the very moving comments about my cousin, Mike! He was the true love of my life!!! He got me in so much trouble at family gatherings because I couldn't stop laughing at his antics... Not to mention how I ended up in the principal's office at Brooks for uncontrolled laughter brought about by Mike. And for those of you in our kindergarten class at Brooks... remembering how, with his leadership and example, we all ended up standing on our desks while Mrs. Kiefer was out of the room and we all had to march up the hall to the principal's office. He still makes me smile😊
Jack Lamb
At our 10 year reunion Mike and I traded name tags. By the end of the night neither of us were sure who was who! Great guy!
Jack Lamb
Joe Perkins
Joe Perkins
I came into Brooks School late in the 4th grade year and I met Johnny Markham and others. I had been living in Alabama where the only sport was football! I had NEVER seen a basketball. I remember that Ken Siler and I were the last ones picked for teams because we were the worst players.
Moving to 5th grade.....I met Buddy Powell because he lived across the street from my aunt. We ended up in the same class along with Mike Jacobs. The three of us must have been a problem for our new first year teacher because I recall that we had to stay after school A LOT! I also got my first paddling from her.
On the pleasant side....I wish someone could re-create the Jay's Sub. Mr. Sol Jacobs was a wonderful man and I ate a truck load of his $1 subs and Mason Specials over the years.
I miss you Mike and Sol!!!!
William Gordon
I remember when Steve Blackwood called me that winter in 1989 to tell me Mike was not doing well.After speaking to Mike later I was struck by how he tried to comfort me during my discomfort discussing his illness.Mike was always a friend and we shared many adolescent misadventures and remained friends after college. During the draft lottery 1969 Mike went in the service stationed in New Jersey playing his horn for 2 years before completing Law at UNC .Mike, John Higgins,and l lived together 1969-1970 at Granville Towers in Chapel Hill. Mike , you were one of the guys and l miss your humor and wonderful sarcasm!!
Laura Bates (Bricker)
Wow! You were so lucky to have known him after high school...one of my favorite people...and his dad!! I'd like to know more about his life....
Charles Luke Powell
One day we were on the playground in the fifth grade. Mike was being really obnoxious telling everybody what to do so I hollered: "Cut it out Mike, you are acting like this crazy little Jew." Suddenly everyone else became silent and backed away. Mike came toward me, then gave me a big hug, which was a very weird thing to do at that point in time. He said: "I can't tell you how totally on target you were just now. A lot has been going on at home, and you hit the nail on the head. I can't thank you enough." Milke was really good at sports, and I definitely was not, so we were not buddies day to day, only allies in the classroom, where we were often similarly critical about too much propaganda from teachers. Then in the 9th grade one day after lunch Mike came up and reminde me of that incident from the 5th or 6th grade, saying that I was the only one who realised the significanc of his Jewishness, and he appreciated it.
Amy Murry was my date for the Senior Prom, and during the dance we fell into conversation with Mike and his date, his first cousin Sylvia. Again Mike reminde me of that moment in the 5th grade, and again he said that he really enjoyed having a gentile friend who seemed to understand what it was like to be odd man out as a Jew in our world. I never saw Mike again until 1975. My family was living in Chapel Hill, and I was home briefly from my adventures in Afghanistan. The first day after my arrival at home with my first wife my mother said that Mike Jacobs was comeing over, that he had called and found out when I was arriving. We sat out on the front porch on a summer afternoon. Mike said that he wanted to see me this last time. He had prostate cancer and would be dead in a few weeks, but he wanted to tell me one last time how much it had meant to him that I understood and acknowledged his Jewishness, acceptec him for who he was. By this time I had had years of studying Hebrew and had spent considerable time in Israel, though most recently I had been speaking a lot more speaking Pharsin and traveling in Iran and Afghanistan.
Charles Luke Powell
When Mike spoke with me before his died he said that he had been drafted. The army often used Jews and Blacks to do unpleasant and dangerous tasks, and Mike had spent time in the army moving stocks of nuclear waste. This he felt was most likely was the source of his cancer.