Jay Burton Jacobson

March 27, 1945 ~ January 10, 2018

Jay B. Jacobson, 72, Brandon, died Wednesday, January 10, 2018, at the Good Sam Luther Manor in Sioux Falls, after a long illness.

Memorial Services will be 1:30pm, Monday, January 15, 2018, at the Spirit of Truth Lutheran Church, Brandon, with a visitation beginning one hour prior. Full Military Honors will follow the service. Jay donated his body to the University of Minnesota Research with the hope to help others.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established by his family in his honor.

Jay Burton Jacobson was born on March 27, 1945 in Worthington, MN, to Jacob and Alyce (Herried) Jacobson. Jay was raised in Worthington, MN where he graduated high school. He worked for the city on the dredge, after which he entered the Navy and served from 1966-1970 on the USS Roosevelt. Jay then entered the University of Minnesota and earned a degree in Food Service and Hospitality. In the fall of 1970, Jay met Alice Knobloch and married on December 11, 1976, in Worthington, MN. They lived in Richfield, MN, while Jay worked for ARA Services, before they moved back to Valley Springs to begin farming on Alice’s father’s farm. When they moved to the farm, he said that he moved from one end of the food service to the other end of it, meaning he feed people and now he was feeding the pigs and cattle. In May 2010, Jay and Alice moved into Brandon. Jay also loaded planes for UPS, sold seed corn and soybeans, and was a school bus driver for the Brandon Valley school district.
Jay served in leadership and various boards in church, served on the elevator board, and was an American Legion member. He was a member of the Beaver Valley Lutheran Church, Valley Springs, and then Spirit of Truth Lutheran Church in Brandon.

Jay was an avid fisherman and hunter. He enjoyed salmon fishing in Alaska. Elk hunting in the Black Hills and Luna, NM were two life goals that he completed. He also has a passion for hunting deer, pheasant and duck. Taking his wife’s Uncle Andy and his son Jason to “Fishing Has No Boundaries” each year was definitely a joy and passion that he had for about 25 years. Jay would take others fishing, especially individuals with special needs. He loved sharing the joy of seeing them enjoy the outdoors. Jay also liked to watch NASCAR races and worked as a pit crew member for a buddy in the early 70’s on a local racing team.

Jay was always a fun-loving, kind and generous man, and a friend to all he met. He was truly a faithful servant ministering to others even while suffering himself. Jay’s deep faith and strong will carried him and his family through 10 years of chronic heart failure.During the past year in the nursing home, Jay enjoyed being an educational tool to many nursing and doctor students.

Jay will be deeply missed by his wife, Alice; three children, Jody (Christian) Rieck, Andover, MN, April Jo (Jeffery) Gustafson, Hurley, SD, and Jason Jacobson, Sioux Falls; two grandchildren, Alex and Jacob; two sisters, Lois Shoemaker, Boulder, CO, and Norma (Dennis Swen) Stueland, Coon Rapids, MN; and one sister-in-law, Emmy (Paul) Banwart, Casa Grande, AZ; and nieces and nephews.

Jay was preceded in death by his parents.

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