Frances (Dede) Juanita Stewart Jacoby
Frances (Dede) Juanita Stewart Jacoby was born October 17, 1925 in Fort Myers, Florida, passing away on Easter Sunday, 2017 in Sarasota, Florida. She is survived by her children, Marcia Bowen (Paul), Jan Salas (Santoyo), Mark Jacoby (Carol), Patricia Heatley (Rob), Carolyn Jacoby (Arlen), her 14 grandchildren, her 8 great-grandchildren, and her brother Tom “Tinker” Stewart (Lorene).
She was preceeded in death by her husband Robert E. Jacoby (2014), her parents Willie W. Stewart ( a long time pharmacist in Fort Myers), and Marjorie Hayes Goolsby Stewart, her sister Dr. Sarah Stewart, and grandson Adam Bowen.
Dede attended Edison Park grammar school and graduated from Fort Myers High School. She attended Florida State Women’s College in Tallahassee. She also served as secretary to her father when he was the legislative representative for Lee County in Tallahassee. Dede, after meeting on their blind date, married Robert E. Jacoby in 1945 and enjoyed 69 years together. Starting their family in Baldwinsville, New York, they moved to Chicago in 1962 where Dede and Bob started the R.E. Jacoby Company. Dede and Bob retired to Fort Myers Beach, Florida in 1987. They loved to travel by air , boat, and motor home, visiting all 50 states and many countries. They were very active in the Good Sams Club. They were also members of the Fort Myers Beach Yacht Club and the Methodist church. They were very active and loved “the beach”. Dede was very proud of being a “true native” of Fort Myers. We can happily say that they are together again, strolling hand in hand, on Heaven’s Eternal Beach.