Patrick Holman Jacobs

Patrick Holman Jacobs was born Friday, February 5, 1932, in Fort Smith, Arkansas, the son of Raymond and Elizabeth Jacobs, and younger brother of Ann Louise Jacobs (later Conrath). He passed at the age of 85 on July 25, 2017. Pat was a curious boy and almost shot his eye out with a Red Rider BB gun; a bb lodged near his elbow from another incident held permanent testimony to this character trait. He was also a mischievous boy and says he spent a few years in a “Catholic school for hooligans,” before graduating from St. Anne’s Academy in 1950. After enlisting in the Air Force and serving stateside in the Korean War from 1951 to 1953, Pat received an honorable discharge and returned to school. He attended Tulsa University and graduated in 1959 with a Business degree. A busy year for Pat, he president of a student organization (for which he had to shave his head after losing a football bet with the student body president of Oklahoma A & M), and engaged to his first wife, Janelle Jameson. He was never shy of adventure and relished chances to tell wild stories of those adventures.

Pat did many things in his adult life, including writing grants for Tulsa and Oklahoma City, and investing in and running various businesses in Oklahoma. He is probably best known for creating his beloved artwork through HMS by Patrick. He crafted historically-accurate, wooden soldiers, painted to exact authentication details. This was a life’s work and source of joy that began quietly in 1968 and blossomed in 1976 after his American Revolutionary War soldiers were chosen to be a state artwork contribution to the national celebration of the Bicentennial in Washington, DC. Citizens from Great Britain, Australia Italy, and many other countries, have his pieces. Pat made annual Christmas soldiers continuously until 2017. Dignitaries, British Royalty, and even pontiffs have received his hand-crafted gifts. His commissions branched widely from the world’s military, eventually including astronauts from NASA’s space and lunar missions, triple-crown winning jockeys, American Indian chiefs, symphony orchestras, and others.

Pat is survived by his sons, Scott, Monty, and Noel; daughter-in-law Anne Jacobs; grandson Joshua; and two granddaughters, Sarah and Keegan. Pat’s life was enriched by countless friends who knew him throughout the years socially or as collectors of his artworks; by the great, close-knit group of men in his Wednesday morning Bible study; by his neighbor Ann, with her adoring cat, Percy; and by his stalwart friend and support, Rick Morgan. All who knew Pat will miss his masterfully told stories, and the joy with which he told them.