Catherine Jacobus is honorary chairwoman of the Circle of Hope gala.
Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Catherine Jacobus comes from a privileged background in New York City, but she learned early that being wealthy did not shield her from everything. Alcohol and drugs were part of her home life.
That’s why she and her late husband, known as Jake, searched for basic-needs programs to support.
“I love bootstrap programs. Money goes to help the poor, nothing frilly,” she said. “I grew up to give. Park Avenue was just my address, not my mindset.”
In addition to the major donations they made over the years to local groups, they have helped about 40 kids go to college, she said. When asked how she found about the kids needing financial support for college, she simply says, “Just heard about them.”
In March, Jacobus, 72, will be the honorary chairwoman of the Circle of Hope gala, held by the Women’s Circle Inc. at the Delray Dunes Golf and Country Club.
Her involvement is monetary, but she likes how the staff stretches the dollars to give disadvantaged women a boost into the working world. The Circle provides free English, literacy and computer classes; support groups; one-on-one assistance with resumes and interview techniques; and a closet of clothes suitable for job interviews.
In 2000 she was on the board of the Achievement Centers for Children and Families when she and her husband led a $4.1 million campaign to build the Community Child Care Center in Delray Beach. She named it after her stepfather (retired singer Morton Downey Sr.) because of the role he had played in her life, including sharing “the knowledge that we are all created equal, and some of us get bigger breaks than others.”
Her mother was heir to the Newmont Mining Corp., started by Jacobus’ great-grandfather in 1921. Newmont, now based in Colorado, is a public company that mines gold and copper worldwide.
Her beloved Jake was her second husband. She had a daughter with her first husband, whom she described as “stuffy.”
Jake was not stuffy. When he showed her pictures of his two kids, she thought he would be a good family man. They had three children together.
— Jane Smith
Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A. New York City for grammar and high schools. I learned that being rich was not the answer to everything. It was wonderful, slowly learning to get to the point (of realizing it was not a shield). For college, I went to Manhattanville College, just outside New York City. It was all girls and run by nuns at the time. My major was English literature.
Q. What professions have you worked in?
A. At age 22 I was on the board of a Fortune 500 company that my great-grandfather had founded, Newmont Mining. I felt out of place, never talked at the meetings. But I had a list of questions that I would ask another director to answer over lunch before each meeting. I learned that the board members were deeply concerned and had strong family values. They were the best of America.
Now I paint and write poems that people can identify with. After reading my poems, people tell me they were moved, that they can understand them. I plan to self-publish a book of my poems.
Among her paintings is a 50-foot-wide by 5-foot-tall mural painted at the Community Child Care Center in Delray Beach.
Q. What do you see as the toughest challenges the Women’s Circle will face this coming year?
A. Maintaining a high level of service in rocky times.
Q. What advice do you have for a young person selecting a career today?
A. Get absolutely the best education you can, get it in the mainstream of your life — 18 to 21 years old. Do a little exploring; take an odd course or trip. Follow your passion unless you can’t make a living. Don’t be afraid to take a risk and remember the world does not owe you anything.
Q. How did you choose to make your home in Gulf Stream?
A. We were living in Little Rock, when Jake realized he no longer had to be at the office each day to run his company. We were tired of the gray skies during winter. That meant California or Florida.
When we left Arkansas, the year was 1976 and everyone in California was stoned and naked. That wasn’t for us. So, we came to Palm Beach, stayed with my dad (Downey) and drove down the coast.
We found a house in Delray Beach near the ocean and lived there for about 15 years. Great place to raise children, funky older home with small rooms and rooms off of rooms. In early 2000, we found the house in Gulf Stream.
Q. What is your favorite part about living in Gulf Stream?
A. I like the sun, the light and the ocean view, but the heat is too much in the summer. So I leave then.
Q. What book are you reading now?
A. I am reading three books. The Kindly Ones, by Jonathan Littell. It’s about the rise of Naziism and the Holocaust; Far from the Tree, by Andrew Solomon. About heredity and non-heredity in families and for escape fiction, a lighter novel called The Papers of Eastern Jewel, by Maureen Lindley. It’s based on a true story about a Chinese princess who became a spy.
Q. What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?
A. Classical always plays in my car. It moves me. My favorite composers include Mozart, Schumann and Beethoven.
Q. If your life story were made into a movie, who would you want to play you?
A. Glenn Close or Meryl Streep. I see them mentally as young, and see them now and know they’ve done beautifully all along.
Q. Who/what makes you laugh?
A. People’s quirks and Colby (her Labradoodle.) I don’t laugh alone, I laugh in communion with others. My late husband, Jake and I used to watch Seinfeld and laugh, but I can’t watch those shows since he’s gone.
If You Go
What: Circle of Hope gala
Where: Delray Dunes Golf and Country Club, 12005 Dunes Road, Boynton Beach 33436
When: March 2, 6 p.m., cocktails and silent auction, 7:30 p.m. dinner and dancing. Special guest is Jim Sackett, retired WPTV-Ch. 5 News anchor.
Cost: $100. Seating is limited, RSVP by Feb. 19.
Information: Call (561) 244-7627, Ext. 105, or visit WomensCircle.org
Comments