By Stacey Dresner

CENTRAL MASS – Susan Jacobson fondly recalls the day in 2013 when she and her mother Frances attended an event at The White House for the Israeli Ambassador. During a conversation in which Frances Jacobson told Michelle Obama of her many years teaching underprivileged children in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, the First Lady called her “an inspiration to us all.” 

“I said to my mother, ‘Did you hear that?’” Susan says. “And she said, ‘This is something I’ll never forget.’”

The countless children that Frances Jacobson taught and inspired over her many years will undoubtedly never forget Jacobson, who on January 28 died at the age of 87.

The lifelong educator and patron of the arts and humanities, who dedicated her life to children, especially those at risk, was called by many, “The Child Whisperer.”

“Children gravitated to her,” said Howard Jacobson, her husband of 63 years. “I’m looking at a photograph as we are speaking, and I don’t know the event, but she’s standing there with her camera and there are [several] children standing around staring at what she was showing them, and she had that smile on her face. There is a certain warmth in the photograph that shows exactly who she was.”

Born and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts, Frances  was the daughter of Eleanor and Julius Freedman, both natives of Boston. While not wealthy, her parents instilled in her the importance of giving back to the Jewish community.

“They gave back to the community to places like Beth Israel Hospital and were committed to the community. That was certainly a part of her upbringing,” Howard said.

As a teenager, Frances underwent two daunting surgeries for scoliosis.

“She was eventually put into a giant body cast and had to lie on her back for an entire year and couldn’t move,” Susan explained. “My grandmother would bring the whole class to visit with my mom every day after school. I wonder if that had some affect…she just had this unbelievable EQ [Emotional Quotient]. My sister Joanne says our mom invented the term EQ before it was actually invented. She just had this ability with children…She was in-tune with children.”

Frances graduated from Connecticut College and began her teaching career as a second-grade teacher in Newton, Massachusetts. She also earned a master’s in psychology from Clark University and was a family therapist for 25 years. 

Howard first met Frances when she was teaching in Newton. Set up by a friend, one day he arrived at the elementary school where she worked to pick her up for a date.

“I waited outside in the hall and the class wasn’t dispersing,” Howard said. “Finally, the children came out and I said, ‘What happened? What was the delay?’” She said, ‘The children didn’t want to leave. They were so involved in what we were doing, they didn’t want to go home.’”

Frances and Howard were married in 1958 and moved to his native Worcester, where they lived for several decades and where they raised their four daughters. The Jacobson’s belonged to Temple Emanuel where their children were b’not mitzvah and where Frances at one time taught religious school.

In her professional life, Frances helped create the Worcester Arts Magnet School and the Multiple Intelligences School in Worcester. She was the first director of the Worcester Arts and Humanities Educational Collaborative, an initiative to bring cultural institutions into schools. She was Chair of the Board at Worcester Youth Guidance and was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Massachusetts Cultural Council. 

Together, Frances and Howard supported institutions like Mechanics Hall, the Worcester Art Museum, and the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts.

“Frances Jacobson was a kindhearted, caring and committed philanthropist,” said Steven Schimmel, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts. “Her support of our Jewish community shined through and her legacy lives on in all of Federation’s activities and work on behalf of the Jewish people.”

Jacobson was also a passionate supporter of Tower Hill Botanic Garden and was involved in the creation of the Children’s Garden. 

“To me, Tower Hill represents beauty, peace, an oasis,” Jacobson once said in an article in Tower Hill’s magazine. “I love sharing that and have always enjoyed bringing my family here so they can experience it. Now it’s wonderful to see all those young children enjoying it too. To them, the garden is a wonderful adventure and place to explore and they absorb so much.” 

Jacobson was recognized by the Worcester Public Schools for her efforts to make arts accessible to every student and was celebrated by the City of Worcester with a key to the city.

After living in Westborough for several years after their children grew up, the Jacobsons moved to Needham, Massachusetts. In the past couple of years, Frances presided over “Grammy’s Chit Chat” a Sunday Zoom call with their daughters and grandchildren; she and Howard would sit together on their couch holding hands to catch up with whichever family members could make it that day.

 “During the Jacobsons’ more than 60 years of marriage, Frances remained deeply committed to her husband, her daughters, their spouses and especially to her grandchildren,” said Rabbi Joseph Eiduson of Congregation B’nai Shalom in Westborough. “She became what one daughter described as ‘the human resources department of the family’ always there to support and lift up, always ready with good, solid advice. She exhibited boundless devotion to her family, the greater Worcester community and held unconditional regard for everyone she encountered on life’s path. Truly a woman of valor, she will be greatly missed.”

In addition to her husband, she is survived by four daughters Susan and her husband Michael; Sally and her husband Marc; Joanne and her wife, Sara; Leslie and her husband Richard; her grandchildren Elizabeth, Robert, Frank, Melody, Sam, Ruth and Rose; and sisters Marilyn Ullian and Barbara Freedman.