Albert George Jakubowski, 92, died on February 18th at his Provincetown home with his son Jay Jakubowski, son-in-law Shawn Nightingale, and his beloved Havanese Rosie by his side. Husband, father, artisan, and raconteur, Al is predeceased by Henrietta, his wife of 67 years and his son Greg.
A Korean War Army veteran Al garnered multiple medals of distinction, before returning to his birthplace of Toledo, Ohio where he began his career as a carpenter quickly moving up the ladder to construction supervisor. Shortly upon his discharge he met the love of his life, Hy. Al’s greatest passion was providing for his wife and children and travel. He instilled wanderlust in his sons by weekend travels as far as time would allow in every direction from Toledo. Eventually settling to a permanent weekend place near Lake Gage Indiana. Hy and Al loved to travel on their cruises with friends as well. They moved to Florida and eventually settled in Jupiter where they retired.
Al’s talent as a carpenter and his love of bird watching naturally lead to his retirement hobby of making bird houses. His son Jay, a Brookline veterinarian at the time, estimated that Al sold over a thousand of his rustic avian homes out of Jay’s clinic to populate the yards and homes of many Boston area residents. As neighbors walked by Al working in his Jupiter garage, he was pleased to give away his creations to anyone who wanted one, to ultimately try to keep the bird population in Jupiter happy.
An avid reader, Al’s towering stature and matter-of-fact exterior often gave way to his sentimental side, as he would be found crying by the story line of his book that week.
The other love of his life was his Havanese mix Rosie, that hated to leave their Jupiter property. His gay son would often comment on how gay his father looked as he carried his little 10-pound dog away from the home, then set her down so that she could exercise herself back to the house. Rosie was of course by his side when his son found that his father had passed away in his sleep.
His final years in Provincetown gave Al a special bond with his son Jay, son-in-law Shawn, and his caregiver Tenzin, who now bid goodbye to Al and send him off to reunite him with his greatest love, his late wife, Hy.
A private family memorial service will be held in the spring when a tree can be planted in Al’s memory. The tree will of course be adorned with one of Al’s birdhouses.