SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Irwin Mark Jacobs' wife, the late Joan Jacobs, moved to La Jolla from the East Coast in August 1966.
They would eventually build a life together, and they were about to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary.
"We have been together so long. We have been together through a range of different issues. Not to have her by my side, is very difficult," said Irwin.
Joan has been by Irwin’s side since they first met at Cornell University.
"It was a blind date, but we had seen each other in the past. She was much more of a conversationalist than I was. It was a good balancing between the two of us," said Irwin.
He said she was a true New Yorker.
"She was pretty much a New York girl. It took a little time for me, from a small town in Massachusetts to get used to that New York brashness, but it was great," he added.
Irwin said Joan's New York background inspired her to give back here in San Diego. The couple donated hundreds of millions on dollars to the Salk Institute, La Jolla Playhouse and San Diego Symphony, as well as UC San Diego and the Museum of Contemporary Art.
"Her father took her to museums, music and some theater. She had a rich background in that," Irwin said.
Something she continued to enjoy before she died.
"She had this disease amyloidosis. It caused her to have trouble breathing. We still went out to events and listened to music. It was a little struggle for her. But she still wanted to do that," he added.
Joan and Irwin have four sons, grandchildren and even great grandchildren. They are all very close.
"It is just has been wonderful to see those periods of life and those things develop," he added.
There will be a celebration of life for Joan at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 13, at The Rady Shell.
