Jacob & Lou
Jacob was one of the most loving and memorable people we knew from college. He was one of Josh’s roommates senior year. It’s true that you don’t always remember what people said to you but you remember how they made you feel. When Jacob entered the room, the mood would lift. I remember feeling excited every time Jacob got home and Josh and I would talk to him about his day. He was incredibly positive, thoughtful, gracious and yet also had a spectacular sense of humor and a memorable laugh.
Jacob was undeniably cool. You felt honored to be picked to be a part of whatever artistic scheme he thought up next. He was also incredibly humble and even underestimated himself sometimes. He was giving and gracious.
Oddly, Jacob’s artistry will forever be apart of our story as a couple. My husband proposed to me during our senior year of college. He decided do so with a book and asked Jacob to illustrate it. He spent months drawing up pictures for the book. We read the book to our kids now. When we got engaged we asked him to take our engagement photos to which he graciously agreed. We had barely a nickel to our name and woefully underpaid him. He didn’t care though. He scouted out a beautiful location and showed up with fresh flowers and found an old bike to use as props. We’ve always loved those photos, and we think of him every time we look at them.
My husband’s senior year house was one of the funnest places to hang out. I have so many memories of playing Smash Brothers there and staying up late talking in the living room. Some of our best memories are from that time. I remember once on a particularly cold day at Wheaton I did not want to walk all the way back to my own house between classes. Josh was in class, and I did not have a key to his house. I didn’t think anyone was home. I knew the front window was often left unlocked, so I decided to clamber through. In the process I tripped and somersaulted onto the couch landing mostly upside down, my feet still hooked in the windowsill. My backpack spilled onto the floor.
I looked up to see Jacob who had entered the living room eating a bowl of cereal say nonchalantly between bites, “Oh hey, Lou. You could’ve just knocked. Want some cereal?” Half strewn on the couch and half on the floor I was mortified but also so amused at how unbothered and nonjudgmental he was by my barging in unannounced through his front window. He couldn’t have cared one bit and evidently did not judge me at all for having completely ate it.
Years passed by and we never saw Jacob again in person, though I wish now we had. I found him on Instagram shortly after he had gotten engaged to Daniel and as he was building Howdy Bagel. I was so happy for him that he was living his best life and with the love of his life. When my mom visited a friend in Tacoma a few months ago, I sent her to Howdy Bagel. She said it was the best bagel she ever had. She tried to say hi to Jacob but it was a very busy day, and he was in the back making bagels. She bought me a Howdy Bagel t-shirt and gave it to me at Christmas. I am so grateful to have a small reminder of Jacob’s beautiful story of becoming his truest self.
We always knew Jacob would do great things — we would occasionally talk about it when he came up in conversation. He was so artistic, so insightful and thoughtful, and so good with people. It is so hard to fathom that such a beautiful soul has been taken from this world so senselessly. Amazing the imprint he left on so many lives in such a short time. He is a reminder to me to cherish all of my friendships past and present. He will be forever missed.
