Donald Martin Jacobsen
November 15, 1942 - September 7, 2024

Donald "Jake" Martin Jacobsen, 81, passed away on September 7, 2024 with family who loved him by his side, after nearly two decades of living with CLL. Jake was welcomed to the world on November 15, 1942 to Chris and Margaret Jacobsen and grew up in Richmond Beach, Washington.

Jake graduated from Shoreline High School in 1960 and continued his education at Western Washington University until he returned home to help with the family milk delivery business while his father was ill. While living in Stockholm, Sweden, he worked in the computer room at Kooperativa Förbundet and married Gertrud Mannerborg in 1968. When back in the US, Jake enjoyed a career in the computer room at Carnation Company in Seattle, WA, operating IBM Mainframe computers. Although it was never his profession, he truly was an engineer at heart and spent his life designing, building and creating so many things around him.

Jake called his travels throughout Europe and Northern Africa in his 20's, "memories to live on!" From the deep peacefulness he felt on the Atlas Mountains, to changing his car license plate to be allowed to drive through East Germany, to watching the Le Mans from the press area, he had adventure after adventure and always spoke fondly of that time.

In addition to travel, Jake also had a love of cars! Combined with his European adventures, he took the gold 1966 Astra Corvette he built to Europe and parked it in front of the Lido de Paris. This resulted in a trade for a 1949 Bentley limousine. He later sold the Bentley for a 1953 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith. Jake's admiration & appreciation of the craftmanship & quality of the Rolls Royce brand never wavered. He cared for and had innumerable adventures with that Silver Wraith for over 30 years! He chauffeured family, friends, musicians & athletes alike and it was a part of nearly every family milestone, including his daughter's wedding.

Jake's two favorite places to spend time throughout his life included the tropical paradise of the Hawaiian Islands and the beautiful Elger Bay on Camano Island. Kauai is where Jake married his second wife of over 30 years, Sharon Schreiber, at the Fern Grotto on February 28, 1992. Elger Bay is where his Mom & Dad built a family cabin that led to a lifetime of wonderful moments, beachside. Enjoying freshly caught Dungeness crab while looking out over Elger bay, was a cherished highlight for Jake every single time the opportunity arose.

Jake is survived by his wife, Sharon Jacobsen, his daughter, Stina (Kurt) Fluegge, his grandchildren, Karina and Lukas, sisters Judi Weiser and Lolli (Ron) Jacobsen and many other loving relatives and friends.

For those wishing to donate in Jake's honor, please give to the Leukemia & Lymphoma society via the team page for Aloha Kokua and the Seattle Big Climb at: https://events.lls.org/pages/wa/bigclimbseattle25/AlohaKokua
All donations from Big Climb help support the mission of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: to cure all blood cancers and improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

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