My congregant and friend Howard Jacobs died on Wednesdsay. He was a congregant at Congregation Kol Ami but he was truly a hardworking, intelligent, and dedicated AIDS activist. He worked tirelessly to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and the plight of those affected by HIV/AIDS. He used his knowledge, force of personality and humor to change elected officials’ positions. He was chair of Being Alive and was a Rent Commissioner for the City of West Hollywood.
In his work life he had served as deputy to Jeffrey Prang, West Hollywood City Councilmember and as government affairs person for GLASS and most recently FirstFiveLos Angeles, using his skills and talents on behalf of children.
Howard was someone who got it. He understood the intersection of spirituality, politics, and real life issues. Howard could always be counted on to tell it like it was and wasn’t afraid of the consequences. He knew life was too precious and too short to pussyfoot around.
He was a really great tennis player and loved to bowl and his dog Wilma was precious to him.
I will miss his wry sense of humor, his laughter and his extraordinary wisdom.
May his memory live for a blessing in the lives of his family, loved ones, and in our community of West Hollywood and Kol Ami.
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