Jakob Franke, of Northvale NJ, born in Friesland, the Netherlands on May 25, 1941, passed unexpectedly November 10, 2016. Jakob was our greatest inspiration, our hero and most importantly our friend.
He epitomized selflessness, fortitude and sacrifice.
He is gone but will not be forgotten. We all will miss him every day.
Jakob is survived by his loving wife, Gely Franke, and two daughters, Ettaly Franke Jobes (m. Robert) and Arva Franke Rogers (m. David, son Conner), and his extensive family in the Netherlands.
After retiring from his long career in Cell Biology at Columbia University, he remained active with his travels, building hiking trails with the NYNJ Trail Conference, his canal societies and rewriting the Field Guide to the Morris Canal of NJ.
A memorial service was held May 20, 2017 in Mahwah, NJ.