Obituary of Reeni Jacob

Reeni Jacob (also known as Reeni Mambalam in the literary community) died at the age of 70 on April 28th, 2024 in Danbury, Connecticut with loved ones by her side; the effects of multiple system atrophy brought her time with us to a close.

Born in Pallom in Kerala, India, Reeni was the sixth of seven daughters of George and Achamma Zachariah and was proud that they were the first family in the area to own a telephone. She was an ardent student, winning the school’s Scripture Prize at fourteen years old, then attending CMS college in Kottayam where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology. Her bubbly nature helped her make a lot of friends, some of whom she still connected with, including being active in a WhatsApp group with her college mates.

Reeni captivated Jacob when they met in 1975 and they married only a few weeks later. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1977 and joining Jacob in Stamford, CT, she had to acclimate quickly when the infamous 1977 snowstorm hit Connecticut a couple of months later. To this day, friends still remember the first time they met her after she moved to the U.S.—how beautiful she was, her perfect sari, and the gold bangles that adorned her wrists. Not only did she become part of Jacob’s circle of friends, her outgoing nature and desire to connect with others led her to take art and bookkeeping courses at the local YWCA, where she formed her own group of friends. Soon Reeni and Jacob bought their first house in Danbury, CT, where daughters Veena and Sapana were born, before moving to Brookfield, CT in 1984 into the home she lived in up to her death. 

Until her daughters went off to college, Reeni was a homemaker, supporting them with their academic, creative, and leadership endeavors. This included answering Sapana’s frequent panicked calls from the high school payphone about an upcoming calculus test and calming her down. “Sappy, I’m praying for you!”

While she dabbled in writing in college, Reeni truly bloomed in the 2000s once she started exploring her literary gifts and writing in her native language, Malayalam. Her fame spread quickly once her writing started appearing in Indian literary magazines, which led to friendships with many famous authors. Her first short story collection, “Return Flight,” was awarded the Pravasi Sahithya award for the best short story collection by an author from abroad. Her first anthology was followed by a novel, “Avicharithal (Unexpected)”, and a second anthology, “Sisirathile Orudivasam (A Day in Autumn)”. Many of her stories were written about the experiences and feelings of Indian women living abroad, earning the appreciation of other Indian women for her willingness to speak frankly about it. 

After years of involvement with the Kerala Association of Connecticut (KACT), she became the first woman president after being nominated by her peers. With her public speaking gifts, she could truly command a stage.

Always with an eye for aesthetics, Reeni took great pride in the renovation and decoration of her house as well as her impeccable style and the drape of her ornate saris. During the renovation, she picked out roughly five shades of white to use with names like “ecru” and “beach sand”; her daughters remain convinced that they were the same shade with different names. She and Jacob were avid gardeners, creating a home surrounded by beautiful flowers and sometimes going into battle with the neighborhood deer who would eat her hosta plants.

If all that wasn’t enough, Reeni was also a radiant hostess, a lover of all things chocolate, an enthusiastic eater of extremely spicy foods, a traveler to far off places, and a woman who loved to laugh.

Reeni was preceded in death by her sister, Jolly. She leaves behind her husband, Jacob Thomas; her daughters, Veena Thomas and Sapana Thomas; five sisters; and friends, family, and fans around the world.

A viewing is scheduled for Thursday May 2nd from 5-8pm at Brookfield Funeral Home, 786 Federal Road in Brookfield, CT, with a funeral service the following day, Friday May 3rd at 9am at the same location. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Mission MSA so one day a cure can be found for the rare neurodegenerative disorder that took Reeni away from us.