Plan for the Future
Benjamin Douglass Jubilee, Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland on August 14, 1929, the first-born son of Benjamin Douglass Jubilee, Sr. (11/21/1905 – 9/25/1990) and Eunice Clarke Jubilee (7/17/1905 – 10/28/1977). He along with his brother, the late Eugene Clarke Jubilee (3/29/1933 – 3/2/2006) his only sibling, were products of a strict household run by their nursery schoolteacher mother and laborer father. Benjamin was a bright and precocious child, very obedient to his parents, but adventurous and good humored. He excelled in school, achieving high grades in science and mathematics while lettering in basketball and tennis throughout high school and college. Ben or Sonny as he was called by his family members, was so bright, he graduated from Booker T. Washington High School at the age of 16. Ben continued his academic excellence at what is now Morgan State University, majoring in chemistry and continuing to win trophies and letters in tennis. He graduated from college in 1950.
Shortly after graduating, Ben joined the army where he served during the Korean War in the Army Chemical Corps in Maryland. There he served his country by experimenting with and developing defenses against chemical warfare agents such as nerve gas. He left the army in September of 1954, four months after the birth of his first child, his son Glenn Douglass.
Ben married in 1952. He was wed to another brilliant Baltimorean, Gloria L. Roberts (May 20, 1928 – March 1, 1969). By her, he was the proud father of three children, Glenn born in 1954, Jane Myra born in 1963, and Lisa Ann born in 1966. Ben was hired by National Starch and Chemical Corporation right out of the army and began his 38 years of employment there on September 20, 1954. During his 38 years at National, Ben worked on the development of and patents for a myriad of things such as pressure sensitive adhesives, water soluble polymers, and paint pigment dispersion. He rose through the ranks at National holding titles of Senior Chemist, Project Supervisor, Research and Development Associate and Technical Development Manager. Throughout his career he managed groups of employees who were responsible for the development of numerous components of every-day items from wipes and paper products to adhesives and paint pigments.
Outside of his work as a chemist, Ben was a devoted family man, homeowner, church deacon, civic leader, auto racing fan, and avid tennis player. He loved music and building electronic equipment including stereo components and color televisions. He moved his young family from Baltimore to New Jersey after taking the job with National. Throughout the 1960s, his family had moved from South Boundbrook to Plainfield and then to West Millington (annexed to Basking Ridge in the 1980s). After the sudden and tragic death of his first wife, Gloria in March of 1969, Ben spent many months as a single parent with his two very young daughters spending most of the year in Baltimore with his parents while he and Glenn kept up the home in New Jersey. Then on August 15, 1970, the day after his 41st birthday, he married his best friend and co-worker Irma Schemitsch (10/3/1940-12/29/2021). Being an interracial couple posed so many challenges for Ben and Irma. But despite cultural differences and having to make sacrifices to raise Ben’s three children, they remained devoted to each other just over 51 years.
Ben was a hard worker but did take time to enjoy life. He was an avid tennis player and played several leagues in the summer months and platform tennis clubs in the Winter months. He enjoyed going to auto races early on, making trips to Lime Rock and Bridgehampton Raceways when Glenn was a youngster. He and his family were serious birders. They kept a catalog of every species of bird that visited the backyard feeding station and for many years hosted a colony of Purple Martins on their property on Stonehouse Road.
Once the children were grown, Ben and Irma built a home in Whitehouse Station, NJ and moved there in 1995. They flourished there for 24 years before moving into assisted living in 2019 after each suffered health setbacks.
The ravages of time took Irma on December 29, 2021, and Ben followed on the morning of May 18, 2022. Mr. Benjamin Douglass Jubilee, Jr. lived a full 92 years, but his proudest achievement was being a father to his three children. Left to mourn their father and carry on his legacy of being good citizens, hard workers and always in good humor are Glenn Douglass and his wife Rose Khalsa, Jane Myra, and Lisa Ann with her husband Andrew Barbera. Mr. Jubilee is also survived by nieces and nephews both here in the United States and abroad in Austria, Irma’s homeland. His memories are also treasured by friends, neighbors and colleagues from National Starch, the United Way and the Somerset County Adult Day Center.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to:
Morgan State University Foundation
1700 E. Cold Spring Lane
Baltimore, MD 21251
On Check: “Donation to MSUAA Scholarship Fund” (Benjamin Douglass Jubilee, ’50)
Give securely online to: givetomorgan.org
Apply donation to other and specify “MSUAA Scholarship Fund on behalf of Benjamin Douglass Jubilee, Jr., ’50”
Or to Irma’s favorite Charity: https://www.smiletrain.org/
