1918
William
2015
William Plumer Jacobs Iii
October 3, 1918 — January 26, 2015
Dateline – Clinton, SC
William Plumer Jacobs III, 96, died Monday, January 26, 2015, in Laurens County Memorial Hospital, after a brief illness.
Mr. Jacobs was born in Clinton, S.C., on October 3, 1918, to William P II, and Edna Shockley Jacobs. He was named for William Plumer Jacobs, his great-grandfather, who founded both Thornwell Orphanage and Presbyterian College.
William graduated from Presbyterian College in 1940 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Infantry through the school’s R.O.T.C. program. Called up when WWII broke out, Lt. Jacobs spent the war in the European theatre including two years in Italy. He often joked that Uncle Sam had sent a man fluent in multiple languages to a country where he couldn’t speak a word. (By the end of the war, he was fluent in Italian.) He remained in the Army Reserve for 20 years, retiring as a Major.
After the war, William partnered with his brother, Hugh, to form Jacobs Brothers’ Printing (later Jacobs Press) in Clinton. Among his many accomplishments were Editor of the American Lawn Tennis Magazine (He had been on the tennis team at P.C.), accomplished water color artist, published poet, and honorary pall bearer at Christopher Columbus’s funeral (long story!).
William is survived by his wife, Erna Hilda Sommer Jacobs, whom he married a few years after the death of his first wife Evelyn “Sue” Fitzgerald Jacobs. Surviving children are a son, William P. Jacobs IV (Theresa) of Greenwood, SC, and a daughter, Susan Jacobs Chesser (Richard) of Aiken, SC. He had four grandchildren: Laura Jacobs Costello (Tony), William P. Jacobs V (Ashley), Catherine Chesser Woods (Scott), and Richard Jacobs Chesser, and four great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother Hugh Shockley Jacobs.
A memorial service is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Friday, January 30, 2015, in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church in Clinton where he was a life-long member. Dr. Jeri Perkins and Dr. Joe Brooks will preside. The family will receive friends in the Fellowship Hall after the service.
A private family committal service will be held at 4 PM at First Presbyterian Church Cemetery on Friday.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to one of William’s favorite charities, Thornwell Home for Children – www.thornwellhome.org
Presbyterian College – www.presby.edu
Presbyterian Communities of South Carolina – www.preshomesc.org
First Presbyterian Church, Clinton – www.fpcclinton.org
Condolences may be expressed online at www.grayfuneralhome.com
Gray Funeral Home of Clinton
William Plumer Jacobs III, 96, died Monday, January 26, 2015, in Laurens County Memorial Hospital, after a brief illness.
Mr. Jacobs was born in Clinton, S.C., on October 3, 1918, to William P II, and Edna Shockley Jacobs. He was named for William Plumer Jacobs, his great-grandfather, who founded both Thornwell Orphanage and Presbyterian College.
William graduated from Presbyterian College in 1940 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Infantry through the school’s R.O.T.C. program. Called up when WWII broke out, Lt. Jacobs spent the war in the European theatre including two years in Italy. He often joked that Uncle Sam had sent a man fluent in multiple languages to a country where he couldn’t speak a word. (By the end of the war, he was fluent in Italian.) He remained in the Army Reserve for 20 years, retiring as a Major.
After the war, William partnered with his brother, Hugh, to form Jacobs Brothers’ Printing (later Jacobs Press) in Clinton. Among his many accomplishments were Editor of the American Lawn Tennis Magazine (He had been on the tennis team at P.C.), accomplished water color artist, published poet, and honorary pall bearer at Christopher Columbus’s funeral (long story!).
William is survived by his wife, Erna Hilda Sommer Jacobs, whom he married a few years after the death of his first wife Evelyn “Sue” Fitzgerald Jacobs. Surviving children are a son, William P. Jacobs IV (Theresa) of Greenwood, SC, and a daughter, Susan Jacobs Chesser (Richard) of Aiken, SC. He had four grandchildren: Laura Jacobs Costello (Tony), William P. Jacobs V (Ashley), Catherine Chesser Woods (Scott), and Richard Jacobs Chesser, and four great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother Hugh Shockley Jacobs.
A memorial service is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Friday, January 30, 2015, in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church in Clinton where he was a life-long member. Dr. Jeri Perkins and Dr. Joe Brooks will preside. The family will receive friends in the Fellowship Hall after the service.
A private family committal service will be held at 4 PM at First Presbyterian Church Cemetery on Friday.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to one of William’s favorite charities, Thornwell Home for Children – www.thornwellhome.org
Presbyterian College – www.presby.edu
Presbyterian Communities of South Carolina – www.preshomesc.org
First Presbyterian Church, Clinton – www.fpcclinton.org
Condolences may be expressed online at www.grayfuneralhome.com
Gray Funeral Home of Clinton
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