Obituary of Malinda Malone Jacobs

Malinda Maria Malone Jacobs (Linda, Mindy) was 72 years young on Sunday, October 23rd, 2022, when Jesus called her home. Due to medical complications, she passed away at Howard County Medical Center, located in Columbia, MD. In her life, she overcame two battles with cancer and fought her most recent 9-month challenge in a strong, private, and determined way until the very end. LIFE Malinda was born in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, on Friday, November 25, 1949, to Isabel Maria Henriques Malone and William Edward Malone. She was the second born of four children; Emilia Isabel Malone (1st born) and Patricia Ann Malone (3rd born) preceded her in death. She is survived by her youngest brother, William Henry Malone. She was raised in Boston, MA, in Columbia Point. She loved God at a young age, which was evident in her actions. At seven years old, she started attending Mass alone each week with great dedication and was baptized that year (Sept. 29th, 1956). She was a faithful woman who believed “nothing happens by coincidence” and “there is power in prayer.” She often reminded her loved ones to “trust God.” Her favorite film was The 10 Commandments because she recalled viewing the movie in the theater as a child when it was first released. She attended Jeremiah E. Burke High school, received an associate’s degree in accounting from UMASS Amherst, and later (1999) earned a graduate certificate from Katherine Gibbs School. Showing a true commitment to continuous learning and growth, she worked diligently towards completing her certificate while juggling her full-time job and supporting her children.” To the surprise of many, her first career goal was to become a Physical Education teacher. However, she found the greatest success utilizing her ability to organize, multi-task, review data, and keep clear records. She worked at Boston University in the admissions department and ultimately found her lifetime career as the Secretary of Peoples Baptist Church of Boston in the South End. Loved ones would often hear her boast that she was the secretary of “the oldest African American Baptist Church in New England.” She had great pride, fulfillment, and joy in her work at Peoples Baptist Church. She loved interacting with the members of the senior’s ministry, supporting the Pastor in his leadership of the Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston, and attending weekly prayer services. She involved Dawn and D’Lynn in church activities such as choir, youth ministry, annual vacation bible school, and much more, including folding of weekly bulletin on Fridays after school. Malinda would start each day with quiet meditative devotional time, including prayer at home and then prayer in the sanctuary when arriving at work. As part of her routine, she enjoyed a large cup of black coffee from Dunkin Donuts and a Diet Coke at least once per day. Furthermore, her favorite book was the Power of the Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy because it affirmed her belief that God is within. She was a Christian woman grounded in her faith and often suspended judgment because she focused on loving those around her as they were. As the Church Secretary, she kept a candy bowl in the office for both the youth and adults to add a little more sweetness to each day. During her years of service, she committed time to counting tithes and offerings, supporting senior members in the community, engaging with the food pantry, serving on the Nursery ministry, selected “Sweetheart of the Year” by PBC’s Men’s Fellowship and used her gifts in more ways than can be named. In 2020, she retired following 30 years of loyal, unwavering, and devoted service. Her next chapter included a move from her 30-year residence at the Walter Baker Chocolate Factory in Dorchester to Columbia, MD, to be closer to her grandchildren. Again, this shows how brave she truly was to take such a big leap of faith and leave Boston amidst the COVID pandemic. Her closest friends include loved ones from her career serving Peoples Baptist Church and one lifelong sister-friend from her time with Boston Church of Christ prior to PBC. Malinda valued loyalty and connection in her friendships and life, and she deeply appreciated the simplicity. She was grounded in order, organization, daily routines and liked “no fuss” by keeping her hair short. She would say, “there is a place for everything, and everything has a place.” Although she was often guided by structure, she was not afraid to try new things and give her honest opinion. Each time she went to a restaurant, Malinda would easily state which of her friends could make the dish better. She had a wonderful sense of humor that she often shared with friends and family. One of her more recent moments in uncharted territory was getting her one and only tattoo of her three children's names on her arm at the age of 68. She loved theater, political news, traveling, jazz music, old-school R&B, seafood, couponing, and bargain shopping. As an adult, her life journey led her to new adventures in both Boston and Texas as she grew her family. She also traveled to many distant countries but still had several destinations on her list, including Paris and an Alaskan cruise. While she enjoyed planning the next “small trip,” as she called them, her greatest joy was her children and grandchildren, who fondly called her “mom,” “mummy,” or “nana.” FAMILY A central part of her legacy is her dedication to her family. She is survived by three children, Marc Carter Malone, who she shared with the late Ken Carter and Dawn Marie Jacobs Martin, and D’Lynn Jacobs, who she shared with Kenton D. Jacobs. She also leaves a Son-law Edward King Martin, Jr.; Grandchildren, Edward King Martin III, Liliana Annmarie Martin, and River Dorothy Martin; Many nieces and nephews, including Malinda Malone, her namesake, who was also with her when she was called home. Our beloved Malinda will be missed in daily outings, her consistently checking in on us, her movie time, her thoughtful and carefree disposition, and her endless support. Her family would not be who and what they are today without her love, prayer, faith, compassion, humor, perseverance, confident-humility, and guidance. MEMORIAL FUND This memorial fund is in honor of the late Malinda Malone Jacobs. The donations for this fund will be used to support annual events and programming for seniors from underserved communities: https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8OBxw821fj ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to all who called to offer words of condolences, prayed for comfort, mailed cards, and sent her favorite flowers. There are two things, Lord, I want you to do for me before I die: Make me absolutely honest, and don’t let me be too poor or too rich. Give me just what I need. Proverbs 30:7 Faithful Servant, Mother, Nana, Auntie, Sister, Friend