Sweethearts for 60 years share secret to success
Noel and Ruth Jacobs met in study hall during their junior year high school and have been sweethearts ever since.
“We met during that study hall period through a friend of Ruth’s, and our first date was junior prom,” Noel Jacobs said. That was at Meadville High School in 1962.
“We went to the senior prom together and were married in August 1967 after graduating from Delta State University. I majored in instrumental music, and Ruth majored in elementary music.”
Retired in Gluckstadt, the Jacobs will celebrate 55 years of marriage this August.
Early next month, they plan on attending the 2022 Senior Adult Valentine Luncheon put on by Ridgeland Recreation & Parks that will feature the National WWII Museum's Victory Belles, a delightful vocal trio serenading audiences with the music of the 1940s.
That event is set for Feb. 7 at the Highlands Presbyterian Church on the Highland Colony Parkway in Ridgeland. And there’s still time to register. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at Ridgeland Recreational Center and Ridgeland City Hall.
Limited tickets available. For more information, call 601.856.6876.
“We’ve attended many of the Senior Valentine Banquets,” Ruth Jacobs said. “Noel and I have been together all these years because of many things, the church being the biggest reason.”
They belong to Madison’s Broadmoor Baptist Church. “The church is the biggest thing that keeps us together and close-knit. Any marriage is give-and-take and takes a lot of time and patience.”
Their advice on the key to a good marriage is patience and family.
“I came from a family of eight girls, and the support from your family members and closeness of extended family is great and gives you that foundation that you need,” Ruth Jacobs said.
Noel Jacobs started out as a band director and worked as a purchasing agent for a number of years and as a senior buyer in Fort Worth, Texas until they moved to Mississippi in 2012. Ruth Jacobs was an elementary music teacher and was great with children, even though she and her husband didn’t have children.
In retirement, Ruth Jacobs loves to decorate all sorts of different things and attend music programs with her husband.
“We like doing everything together,” she said. “We haven’t been able to do much recently because of the pandemic, which is a shame. We love anything to do with music.”
Noel Jacobs said he likes to go down to the Ridgeland Recreation Center to exercise every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
“I exercise with the senior citizens there,” he said. “I always get there early to get coffee prepared, and they even trust me enough to have a key to the building.”
He said he is looking forward to the entertainment at the luncheon this year.
“The entertainment is always good,” he said. “The Victory Belles are fantastic, and it was a huge hit when they were at Broadmoor Baptist Church a few years ago. We enjoy the fellowship of everyone around the table.”
Neely Jones, the Senior Program Coordinator for Ridgeland Recreation and Parks, said the luncheon is open not only to couples but for seniors who want to come alone or with friends.
“This is also a great ladies’ luncheon,” Jones said. “In the past, we’ve had it as a banquet at night. Our last banquet was in February 2020, and we have not had one since COVID.”
A survey showed that seniors preferred a luncheon instead of a banquet.
There will be a photo booth.
The River of Pearls DAR Chapter will make Valentine cards for veterans and then distribute them to the Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson.
“We always sell out of tickets, and we have a limited number of them,” Jones said. “Tickets are still available and are $10 each. They can be purchased at Ridgeland City Hall or the Ridgeland Recreational Center.”
Attendants of the luncheon can enjoy a garden salad, their choice of pork tenderloin or chicken, wild rice, green beans, carrot souffle and a roll, and red velvet cake or white chocolate bread pudding for dessert.
“The Victory Belles are going to be the highlight of the show,” Jones said. “Dancing will be allowed, and the photo booth is going to be a lot of fun. Everyone will go home with a polaroid picture from the photo booth since it will fit with the vintage theme of the luncheon. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone there.”
Highlands Presbyterian Church is located at 1160 Highland Colony Parkway. For more information about the luncheon, contact Neely Jones at 601-856-6876 at Ridgeland Recreation & Parks.