In memory and appreciation: Carolyn Jacobson

Carolyn Jacobson, 1950-2018.

by Marjorie Rachlin

Carolyn Jacobson, who wrote articles for Forest Hills Connection, died March 23 of cancer, at the age of 67. She knew our neighborhood well, since she lived at 4700 Connecticut for many years. The funeral was at Adas Israel on March 26.

I met Carolyn when she came to Washington to work for the AFL-CIO, after graduating from the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations at Cornell. She was an amazing friend, thoughtful, caring and generous. Her gift for friendship gave her a huge network of friends all over the country.

Carolyn had amazing energy, and she put it to work to further the labor movement and the fight for women’s rights. She was a leader in the struggle for contraceptive equity, and initiated a program to educate union women about cervical cancer. She believed that there should be more women in leadership in unions, and she was tireless in promoting special programs and workshops to encourage and train union women. (The National Writers Union and Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO have written their own remembrances of Carolyn and her advocacy work.)

Many of the people and causes Carolyn chose to profile for Forest Hills Connection reflected her passion for promoting women and their accomplishments.

 
She will be missed by her co-workers, her friends and her neighbors. This is a personal loss to me – a hole in my life.