I was deeply saddened to learn of Dr. Jacobs' passing. We met in 1981.  He was a young practitioner and was working in a practice in Maryland when we first met.  However, when he moved to Virginia, I followed him because I knew he was the right person for me. I continued to see him for ongoing training and evaluations for over 40 years.   He had a special place in my life, and I will always be grateful for his skills and knowledge, which supported me through my visual challenges.  He was an integral part of my life, and I will miss his smile and humor. His wife Pat, was always there to counsel and support his patients by playing the important but invaluable administrative role in the office.  He was a special man.  He left us too soon and played an essential role in the lives of thousands of people.  Robert, may you have a peaceful journey to the next world, knowing that you played a significant role in this one.  May your memory be eternal!!!! George

Dr. Jacobs was THE BEST doctor.  he had this remarkable way of always being fully present.  I am honored to have known him.

So sad to hear of Robert’s passing.  Jason and I will keep you and extended families in our thoughts.  Leslie

Dr. Jacobs made a deep impact on my son’s development, and therefore, our family. I will be forever grateful to him for providing us with a plan and hope, in addition to clear and kindly-delivered explanations. Thank you for your dedication and kindness Dr. Jacobs! We will miss you lots.

We offer our deepest condolences to Pat, Nataly and all his family and colleagues.

With love, Loic, Chloe, Adriana, Pierre.

As one who is the mother of three of DrJacobs' patients back in the 1980's and 90's and  the  grandmother of two more of them, it  is with great sadness that we learned the news of his passing today.  We only learned of it when my daughter called to make appointments  for her children to see him again, after a  several month absence.  Dr. Jacobs was a light in the forest for those who had run out of answers for bright capable children who were falling through the cracks a school.   Within weeks of starting with Dr. Jacobs' practice,  my youngest daughter was riding a bike and keeping up with the other children at school and at home, in stark contrast to before.   Dr. Jacobs had many gifts to offer the world  and he left some mighty big shoes to fill.  With deepest sympathy,    Rebecca Allen

The Krachman family offers condolences. Dr. Jacobs was a professional contemporary and friend of my Father, Dr. Leonard Krachman, O.D.  As a patient of Dr. Jacobs, I felt a bridge to my father as their warm styles and approaches were similar. A hard  loss. 

I’m deeply saddened to learn of Dr. Jacobs passing. My sincere condolences to your family. Dr. Jacobs was a champion of my recovery from a severe brain injury. He was the sole person who understood my vestibular disorder and its neurological impact and visual challenges. His knowledge, experience and compassionate approach were the key to my improvement. Over the years in vision therapy, his deep and full understanding of my situation brought me from arriving to my appointments too dizzy to participate to eventually helping me to be competent enough to drive a car. He and my dear vision therapist, Phyllis Keith were the backbone to my successful healing and recovery. I am forever grateful to him for helping me regain my life back. I'm indebted to his compassion and dedication. He was one in a million. Thank you, Dr. Jacobs. Your memory will always be a blessing.

Donna Mayer 

Dear Pat and Natalie,

The picture of Dr Jacobs you all chose for this is absolutely perfect! He looks sooooo happy and proud of you all, as I know he was! We’ve been so privileged to know you all since Dr. Jacobs began working with Sam almost 20 years ago. We are so thankful for all of his hard work to help Sam so much! We are also thankful for his patience when little Peter made his way into the treatment room every time we came. Installing that door to separate the waiting room was a great idea! We also appreciate all of the eye exams he did for all of over the years. I know eye exams were not his favorite activity, but we appreciated it very much! 

There aren’t words to express how sad we are for your loss. We really hope happy memories comfort you and help you smile. 

Love, Millie, Will, Sam, and Peter Sjoberg 

Dr Jacobs has treated my kids for many years.  He turned my oldest son from a non-reader to the kid we had to take books away from.  After he told my youngest that his hair was interfering with his vision, he came home and gave himself a dramatic and most unskilled haircut.  Dr Jacobs clearly made an impression!

Dr. Jacobs was a natural educator, delivering humorous lectures, kindness, and solutions.  We will always remember him with fondness, gratitude and a smile.  May his memory be a blessing.

Dear Jacobs Family,

I want to offer my sincere condolences to your family on the loss of Dr. Jacobs.  He was very patient with my daughter and me in helping us understand her vision challenges and offered her therapy that did improve her vision and academic performance.  He made a difference in our lives. May his memory be eternal. Demetra

Dr. Jacobs was such amazing man whom I had the honor of knowing.
He discovered a rare vision condition for me and helped me to know why my eyes/brain weren’t coordinating.
What a gift he gave me!
What a kind generous spirit!
May he Rest In Peace and his family be comforted knowing just how many people he helped and comforted.
A life well lived.

I first met Dr. Jacobs on the afternoon of June 25, 2019 - one month after suffering what turned out to be a debilitating TBI - due to being rammed by a car behind me while enroute to work. I was really angry with Dr. Jacobs at the beginning of the appointment.  I had worked so hard, with great difficulty, to fill out a simple evaluative TBI form, which he then told me he wasn't going to use. I think all my anger at suddenly being incapable of seeing, comprehending, keeping my balance, etc., due to the accident, became directed at him. I think he then offered me the opportunity to leave the appointment without going further.  But somehow I realized his help and expertise and humor was so much what I needed then...and for many months later. Simply said, he helped repair my life. I will be forever grateful to him. 

Dear Pat and Natalie,

We are so sorry to hear about Dr. Jacob's passing.  He will be missed. 

Denison said, "He was a great doctor and very friendly."  Both of our children, Phoebe and Denison, enjoyed weekly vision therapy with Dr. Jacobs and his staff.  Everyone in our family got to know Dr. Jacobs and his practice.  His commitment to excellence and superior care was clear. 

A few years ago our daughter was playing collegiate lacrosse.  Her father and grandmother went to her game but I missed it.  She played on a Saturday.  By Wednesday both her father and grandmother had asked me several times if I had seen Olivia and each time I said no.   After being questioned so many times I began to wonder.  So, I FaceTimed her and there to my dismay was my kid with a big black eye!  (I asked my mother, my husband, and my daughter why no one had told me and what in the hell happened? They said that they knew I would freak out and that during the lacrosse game, Olivia took a stick to the eye from an opposing player who received only a yellow card when she should have gotten a red one.)( I digress, and my digression would not have   surprised Dr. Jacobs because he knew me and understood our family well.)   After a mild freak out, I did take the black eye to Dr. Jacobs ASAP.  Olivia sent me a photo and I sent it immediately to Dr. Jacobs.  He examined it closely.  I asked him what he saw.  He said," All I see is a pretty girl with a black eye"  It made me laugh out loud.  It still makes me laugh.  He had a keen sense of humor and understanding of people, especially parents. 

I had the pleasure of getting to know Natalie, Pat, and Dr. Jacobs.   Seeing the three of you work together was a delight and sometimes comical.   Everyone knew who kept that ship watertight. 

We send our love to you all and are happy to have had Dr. Jacobs in our lives and will miss him.

Truly,

Denny, Melanie, Olivia, Phoebe, and Denison

It is often said that people will remember you not for what you do, but for how you make them feel. In that way, the profound sense of loss that I left today in learning about Dr. Jacobs passing if perhaps the best testament that I can provide to him. 

I had the pleasure of getting to know Dr. Jacobs in 2005.  As a sophomore in high school, I was anxious and embarrassed about my recently diagnosed vision impairment, but was quickly put at ease by Dr. Jacobs' quite, calm professionalism and genuine kindness. He made me feel taken care of, valued, and hopeful about the journey to better vision. When I came back to the office some 15 years later for a check up, he was just as welcoming and kind.  Dr. Jacobs will always standout in my mind as a shining example of an individuals ability to positively change the world around them through seemingly small acts of kindness. I am grateful for the knowledge he gave me and am glad to have known him.  May he rest in peace. 

Dr Jacobs helped heal the world, one patient at a time. Merely saying that he was professional, thorough, and compassionate seems an understatement. Dr Jacobs was a master of his craft, the intricacies and nuances of brain-injured vision, and a gifted communicator when it came to explaining diagnoses to a layperson. His enduring gift to me is the knowledge that TBI recovery is an ongoing journey rather than a finite process -- essentially, a gift of hope. 

May God comfort Pat, Natalie, and the rest of the family.

Dr. Jacobs helped me enormously during a very difficult time after I was in an accident that caused vision problems. I have very fond memories of the tall, towering but a gentle man who had a smile and a great sense of humor when I went to see him. His calmness and caring approach made me realize he is a special person. He treated me for 4+ years and during that time I got the privilege of interacting with his amazing family (Natalie & Pat.) He bravely faced his challenges including his diagnosis and during my last visit he smiled and said it's going to be ok and directed the conversation back to my eye care. His passing is such a great loss to all of us and my heart goes out to his family who must be missing him dearly. I know his patients adored him and we feel the loss. He touched many lives and made a positive impact. Please accept my condolences in this time of your sorrow and grief. May God bless him and bless you all. He will live in my fond memories. 🙏

As Rick mentioned in his comment, we have a long and memorable history with the Jacobs family, both personally and professionally. From our early days in Montgomery Village, we shared daily activities with our children, Ben and Rachael,  through infancy and toddlerhood. Once Pat, Robert, and Rachael  moved to Virginia we remained friends and Robert was my optometrist. I always looked  forward to my appointments with him and to our chats about our families as well as the educational staff training  that he was involved in. His passion for his profession, as well as his caring and insightful style, helped him to be the highly competent and well respected optometrist that he was. He will be greatly missed by so many friends, family members and patients who knew this very kind compassionate and caring man.

I did not know Dr. Jacobs as well as many of you who have shared memories. However, it only a brief encounter with him would leave you with the certainty that he was a wonderful man. I am an occupational therapist at Brain Injury Services, so I knew him in a professional capacity but thoroughly enjoyed interacting with him as a fellow human being. Dr. Jacobs was extremely generous with his time and knowledge. In addition to the in-services he provided to our organization as a whole, he also spent several hours with a colleague and I teaching us (for free) about vision therapy and what we could do as an SLP and OT to help our clients improve. That was just the kind of thing he did because he loved his work and wanted more people to be involved. I have also had several clients who worked with him and made great progress. Everyone who met Dr. Jacobs benefited from the experience. He was so incredibly knowledgeable, but at the same time completely approachable, patient, and kind. In a time when there are so many distractions and pressure for people (especially doctors) to rush, Dr. Jacobs always had this quiet focus that made you feel like you were the highest priority of his day. I simply cannot say enough good things about him. His passing is truly a great loss to the world, but his memory will live on in all of us whose lives he touched.

Sheryl and I met Robert and Pat in 1981. We had recently moved into adjacent townhouses and quickly became friends. Rachel and Ben (our first child) were born within 2 months of each other in 1982. We shared many meals, a daycare nanny, and Robert and I enjoyed wonderful times together including playing golf and watching sports. We spent many late nights discussing visual training and optometry where his dedication and knowledge were obvious, so it has been a joy reading his patients’ comments which beautifully reflect Robert’s gentle demeanor and kindness.  I miss my friend.

Dr. Jacobs took time to teach me exercises that dramatically helped improve my eyes. For that, I am very grateful. He was an excellent teacher, and wanted to share his knowledge with his patients. It made a huge difference for me! But aside from the excellent professional service he provided, I just loved getting to talk with him during our consultations. He was one of the funniest and kindest people I have ever met. He was utterly professional, but also incredibly in touch with his humanity. He was authentic. He was a mensch. Honestly, I can't remember ever genuinely liking a doctor so much on a personal level—or missing one so much, either.

I feel deeply saddened by Dr. Jacobs' passing. He was a gift to the community of traumatic brain injury survivors. While recovering from post-concussion syndrome, Dr. Jacobs gave me hope, inspiration, and a path to healing. He was a uniquely kind and dedicated physician. He practiced not only with expertise, but with wisdom. My prayers are with Pat, Natalie, and the rest of Dr. Jacobs' family and the team at J-N Vision. 

I am so sad in hearing the news of Robert's passing. My most heartfelt sympathy to Pat, Natalie and the rest of his family. Dr. J was the most compassionate, caring, dedicated remarkable man. I am so very thankful for the care he gave me during my recovery from a TBI with post concussion syndrome. He was always supportive of me and I always felt I had someone in my corner. May God give you the strength during this most difficult of times. The world has lost a truly wonderful human being. I know he is up in heaven watching over his family, friends and patients.  I will forever remember him and will miss his kindness and warm smile. 

I had the fortunate opportunity to collaborate with Robert on several patient cases.  His impact on their healing was extraordinary, and I am grateful for his mentorship.  He leaves a legacy of compassion, empathy, warmth, and humor that will inspire those he touched for years to come.  Wishing you, Pat, and your daughters Rachel and Natalie, peace and comfort in your time of grief.