Jacqueline V. Loeb (Trubowitz)

Jacqueline Vida Loeb died peacefully, with grace and dignity, on February 11 in Wayzata, Minnesota after a long illness. A longtime resident of Rowayton, CT, Jacqueline was 82 years old.

“Jackie” was born in New York City on July 16, 1929. The youngest of three daughters to Mitchell and Fanny (Frances Smith) Loeb, Jackie grew up in Brooklyn, New York with her two sisters, Flora and Eleanor. She attended Abraham Lincoln High School, Brooklyn College, and Cornell University, where she received her M.A. degree in higher mathematics in 1950. In 1952, Jackie married Shelley H. Trubowitz and settled in Rowayton, where they raised seven children.

Jackie lived through the great depression; through the lens of her father Mitchell Loeb, she saw many injustices of the world, appreciating the social consciousness of liberal thinkers of the early decades of the 20th century. Mitchell, a commercial artist, was active in the New York socialist and labor movements of the 1930s and earlier, was a friend and campaign manager for Meyer London, the first socialist congressman from NY, and was a friend and active supporter of Eugene Victor Debs, socialist candidate for the American Presidency. Jackie emerged from this upbringing with a strong sense of individualism, of the social contract of citizenry, and of equality and civil rights for all.

Jackie was a force of nature. She had an innate talent for mathematics, a keen eye for design and three-dimensionality (from her father), and a flair for French cuisine. She was a watercolor artist and an accomplished photographer, known locally and among family for her annual and eagerly anticipated black and white 8 x 10 holiday photograph. While raising her children, she taught mathematics at the Thomas School for Girls in Rowayton, at Staples High School in Westport, CT and at Mamaroneck High School in Mamaroneck, NY, where she was the department chair.

In the mid-1970s, she returned to graduate school, earning a Masters Degree in Public Health at Columbia University. With this degree, she worked to help constrain runaway healthcare costs, joining a group that created a new system of mathematically-derived health care payments based on diagnosis-related groups, or DRGs, the standard for inpatient reimbursement to this day. Quite unique at the time, DRGs effectively shifted some fiscal responsibility to the provider side in that longer hospitalizations would no longer be fiscally rewarded. She then worked at the Medical College of New York in Valhalla and at Group Health, Inc.

Education was a priority for Jacqueline, both for herself and, as she referred to them, her “seven stars of the big dipper”. Her own accomplishments aside, she was even more proud of her children’s achievements. Today, Jackie’s seven stars are living the very expression of Jackie’s commitment to education and dedication to the pursuit of excellence.

Jacqueline carried herself with an understated elegance, and she maintained an inner grace that was evident to all. Jacqueline Loeb is survived by her seven children: Peter, Charles (Chip), Jonathon, Seth, Amy, Phoebe, and Mitchell and their spouses and twenty grandchildren, as well as four nephews, one niece and their families.

A memorial service will be scheduled for this summer in Rowayton. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the Rowayton Civic Association (RCA) in memory of Jacqueline V. Loeb, PO Box 302, Rowayton, Connecticut 06853 or online, to the Hennepin Health Foundation in memory of Jacqueline V. Loeb for Alzheimer’s Research HERE.

I just learned today that Chappy died on June 7, 2010. I learned this by accident on the Internet … very sad to me. I tried to e-mail a notice to his family but failed.

This is what I tried to send, “My name is Peter. Chappy was my best friend growing up in Rowayton. Even though we grew apart later in life at about 13, I thought of him often and was so lucky to have such a good friend growing up. Love to his family”.

Chappy’s story is here.

This is such a shock to me. Every now and then I tried to hunt him down. I have such great memories of our childhood even though it’s been 50yrs. I learned they called him “Chap”. We grew so different, yet in many ways, stayed the same if that makes sense. Well, I needed to tell someone of this news even though it was some time ago.

There are so many things we shared as firsts. For example, I remember our first dates. Chappy’s father had us clean the car so our dates wouldn’t get there dresses dirty. Chappy and I giggled behind his father’s back both thinking “Who cares.” We were going to a dance and Chappy’s father was driving us. We both kissed the same girl on the cheek on the same day. I think her name was Jane.[From Crick: This was Jane Pemberthy in the same six grade class??? ] Then, we ran home very proud of ourselves. We started little league together and his mother saved my left eye but that’s a long story. Any way I had to write this. Peter

Chappy’s father died in a car crash in 2008. Norwalk Hour article.
Peter’s story is here.

Jane Smith Graham found this article on the night of Chappy’s collapse.

Meg was at the Olympic trial and reports that Heidi was 28th at mile 18. Then she went to the finish line and didn’t see her until her finish at 15th. Meg says that “I was pretty excited to say the least.”

Meg and youg Heidi.

from Crick

I never pass up an opportunity to brag about my cousin Meg’s daughter and her accomplishments as an elite Marathon runner. Meg (Gatten) and I grew up together in Rowayton CT and only re-connected after Becki and I moved to Woodstock in 1996. Although I have not seen Meg since the early 1960s, it has been nice talking to her on the phone and receiving her notes in the mail. One of the best things about moving back to CT from California has been re-uniting with my extended family of 15 cousins and seeing all of my aunts and uncles who were/are still alive and many Rowayton friends. With myself and four siblings, I am the eldest of the 20 cousins and an uncountable number of second cousins including five grandchildren soon to be seven.

Left to right (click to enlarge): Meg with mother Lois and father Rex; sister Phoebe, brother Peter, and brother David sitting on my mother’s lap with me standing in front of my father; and cousin Suzie next to her mother Kate and father Charlie. This event was Christmas in 1952 at our grandparents house in McLean VA.

I’ve been following Meg’s daughter Heidi (now Heidi Westerling Westover at the age of 30) since I heard of her heroics in Track at the University of Rhode Island where she was a leading NCAA long-distance runner. Two years ago, Heidi finished 18th in the 2010 Boston Marathon and 3rd among American women with a time of 2 hours 39 minutes and 14 seconds (2:39:14). This was an improvement over her performance in 2009 when she finished 14th but with a time of 2:43:11. Her time in the 2010 Boston Marathon qualified her to compete for only three spots on the Olympic Marathon team in the Olympic Trials held in Houston and that finish time ranked her 46th among 225 qualifiers for the long-distance Trials this month.

Here is the layout in Houston on January 14th, Saturday, 2012:
Weather: sunny, clear
Temperature: 40F (start); 57F (finish)
Wind: WSW 9-12 mph
Qualifiers = 225
Declared = 188
Starters = 183
Finishers = 152
Prize purse = $20,000 bonus per runner for Olympic Marathon participation, with $50,000 for the Olympic Trials champion.

Heidi’s interview with NH news at WMUR.com a few days before traveling to the Olympic Trials in mid January. Skip the ad to get to her interview.

Heidi finished 15th out of 152 finishers with a time of 2:35:45 her best time in a world-class marathon. No, she didn’t make the Olympic team of three but as you can see from the ages of the top 15 finishers, there is a lot of marathon life after 30. Congrats, Heidi Westover and parents Meg and Tommy Westerling. One thing that makes Heidi stand out among these finishers is that she is a full-time 5th grade teacher in the Charlestown MA school system.

Connie with Len Calendriello in front row. Second row left to right: Paul Tebo, unknown, Chris Intemann.

This class is the one that graduated from 6th grade at Rowayton School in 1955. Went through Rowayton yesterday. Will fill you in later. Crick

from Connie

OK, just to confuse the “what schools we went to when” issue, here’s how I remember it. After leaving 6th grade in 1955, those of us who didn’t go to private school (I didn’t go to Thomas until 9th grade) spent a year at West Avenue School in Norwalk. It was just down the hill from the Norwalk Hospital, near the intersection of West Avenue with Route One, an intersection that I think no longer exists because of the Thruway. Anyway, the principal was a very nice guy named Harry Kane, my homeroom teacher was Mrs. Gloetzner (Linda and Janice’s aunt, I think), and isn’t that where you had Mr. Nartoff, Crick? His homeroom was across the hall from mine. Pam Jones was also in my homeroom, but I can’t remember who else was. In the 8th grade, West Rocks was supposed to be ready, but it wasn’t, so we had double sessions at Center Junior High. I can’t remember where in Norwalk that was. I had the afternoon session, which meant I could sleep late, which I loved until I realized I wouldn’t be getting home until almost dark every day. But after a couple of months, West Rocks opened, and Pat, how well I remember having to walk down the hill and take the public bus home if I stayed late, but it made me feel very grown-up and independent.

Then I went to Thomas in the 9th grade and walked to and from school every day for the next three years until my family moved to Phoenix. I spent senior year at Central High School in Phoenix, one of a class of 500. A big change!

Connie and Ellin showing off their dolls at Christmas circa 1953. Mary Henry is in the shadows to the left of Connie.

“This reminded me of the time our mutual babysitter and second mother, Helen Horn, gave Ellin and me black baby dolls for Christmas. Ellin may have been too young to remember this. One of those dolls is in this picture.”

Here is Connie and Johnny Fogle (below) at Bayley Beach circa 1953.

In the late 1940s and early 50s my preference was Hopalong Cassidy while Paul was Gene Autry. I liked Hoppy because of his two-gun belt … and I had the same hat and blue shirt as Hoppy. I guess the hat blew off while I was galloping around the fields before this picture was taken. Note the spurs and cowboy boots

I believe this picture was taken around 1951-52. In the late spring my sister Phoebe got contagious scarlet fever. So I was taken out of Rowayton School for a month and put on a train to Washington. My Grandfather and Grandmother picked me up at Union Station and drove me to their ‘farm’ in McLean VA. At that time McLean was rural with many dirt roads.

Grandfather had two horses, Sparta  (a male Tennessee Walker shown above) and a filly Blue Jean. Grandfather would send me out to the front pasture on Sparta leaving Blue Jean who was fairly wild in the barn. On one ride, when I was out in the pasture, I heard Blue Jean winny way back at the barn. So did Sparta because his head and ears raised up. Then Sparta took off in a gallop back to the barn. I held on for dear life. As I was speeding toward the barn, I saw Grandfather running from the house waving his arms to get my attention. He yelled “Duck your head when you go into the barn!” Sparta and I circled the barn to get to the front and I noncalantly ducked my head as we entered the barn.

What a ride. It was like Hoppy chasing after bandits with guns a blazing. Phewy!

from Crick

This article was published on May 8th, 1959, in the Norwalk Hour.

We also had a 6th grade trip (1955) to New York City and Museum of Natural History. It was a hot spring day and this was a memorable class trip because of the bumpy bus ride through the Bronx on cobblestoned Bruckner Blvd and back. I vaguely remember seeing some interesting things at the museum. However, I recall even better the nausea we all felt on the way back home. I believe that the next day most of the kids who took the trip were absent from school.