James "Jim" Jacobs

James “Jim” P. Jacobs, 64 of Oswego, passed away on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Naperville, Illinois with his family by his side.

He was born September 8, 1959, in Chicago, Illinois to Gerard and Joan (nee Skeggs) Jacobs and grew up in the Lincoln Square neighborhood. He married Patricia Orel on April 9, 1988, at St. Bartholomew Church and settled in Aurora, Illinois before moving to Oswego.

Jim worked for the CTA as a bus mechanic for 30 years and was quite the handyman. He was able to tinker with and fix almost anything, including finishing his own basement, turning his vision into reality. His love of music from his youth never faded; he was always listening to the songs of the 60’s and 70’s. Downtime at home was spent watching some of his favorite old movies, like The Quiet Man and It’s a Wonderful Life, competing every weeknight with contestants on Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, and often watching the Food Network on the weekends. Jim’s favorite holiday was Thanksgiving, when he could cook the holiday turkey and sides, which of course were purchased after scouring the ads and finding the best deals! More than anything, Jim loved his family, loved his children, and enjoyed being around the younger kids, like his nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.

Leaving behind to cherish his memory is his wife of 35 years, Patricia, children Daniel Jacobs and Grace (William Steen) Jacobs; siblings Robert (Patricia) Jacobs, Timothy Jacobs, Diane (Mark) Coconate, JoAnne (Uwe) Schulze and Holly (Brian) Lutzow; brother and sister in laws Lorraine Preziosa, Peter (Kathy) Orel and Nancy Kitsch; nieces and nephews Cynthia (Bryan) Connelly, Sandra (Matt) Little, Steven Jacobs, Michael (Kahla Hoffmann) Coconate, Cody Coconate, Shawn Coconate, Bradley (Amanda) Schulze, Zachary Schulze, Samantha (Phil) Mehlitz, Christopher (Anita) Lutzow, Kyle Lutzow, Emily Preziosa, Theresa Preziosa, Stephen (Lisa) Preziosa, Samuel (Elizabeth) Preziosa, Peter Orel Jr., Andrew Orel, Jaclyn Orel and Kenneth Orel; great nieces and nephews Madison, Brooklyn, Scott, Anastazja, Taylor, Kevin, Allison, Gavin, Jazmen, Stephen Jr., Nicholas “Bro” and one special little one on the way. He was preceded in death by his parents, Gerard and Joan Jacobs; his mother and father-in-law, Albert Orel and Joyce Orel; and his nephew, Alexander Lutzow.

A gathering will be held to celebrate the life of Jim Jacobs on Saturday, April 13, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. until the time of service at 12:00 p.m. at Bauman Family Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Kidney Foundation or the American Diabetes Association.

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