Jacob Addadi, 81, of Overland Park, Kansas, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022. Funeral services were held at Mt. Carmel Cemetery on Sept. 9.
He was born March 9, 1941, in Tripolitania, Libya, to Shaul and Amalia Hadadi and moved to Tel Aviv, Israel, when he was five years old. Jacob was the ninth of 12 children.
He is survived by his brothers Nisim (Elana), Shalom (Sara), Egal (Rivka) and David (Rivka) Hadadi and his sister, Esther (Victor) Dvash.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Shaul and Amalia, and his brothers Abraham, Alfonso, Vito, Herzl and Climo Hadadi.
Jacob was a paratrooper in the Israeli Air Force before he met his wife, Mary, while she was vacationing in Israel with her family. Their connection was instant, though their ability to communicate was not. After six months of exchanging letters across the Atlantic in their native tongues and needing to have them translated in order to understand each other, Jacob made the tough choice to cross an ocean on a two-week voyage by ship to reunite with his beloved Mary Bruller in Kansas City, Missouri.
Jacob and Mary had two sons, Jeff and Danny, who filled their lives with much joy. After working for years in the garment business, Jacob and Mary became entrepreneurs and opened Addadi's Fabrics in the garage of their first home in Prairie Village in 1968.
They eventually moved to a storefront in 1979 at 75th and Metcalf and moved one last time to 87th and Grant where the business is currently running today. Their store became a family meeting place full of joy and laughter and many life lessons. Jacob was always telling his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, "You have to talk to people! You have to know how to talk to people." He was a kind, generous and very outgoing man with so much wisdom to impart. His family, friends and customers would all agree.
Jacob enjoyed gardening, cooking and, most of all, time with his family. Nothing was more important or precious to him than the family and the life he created with Mary.
Jacob is survived by his loving wife, Mary; their two sons, Jeff (Leslie) and Danny (Jennifer); his six grandchildren, Ariella (Roy), Michael, Sam, Joey, Jessica (Austin), and Leorah; and his six great-grandchildren, Addison, Hudson, Tamir, Maverick, Nadav and Coye.
In lieu of flowers; the family suggests a donation in his memory to the American Heart Association, 13851 W. 63rd St. #346 Shawnee, KS 66216, or online at heart.org/en.
Online condolences for the family may be left at louismemorialchapel.com.
