CLEAR LAKE, MN (FORMERLY OF BROOKLYN CENTER, MN)
OCTOBER 10, 1936 – MARCH 31, 2021
Bill was born October 10, 1936 in Little Falls, MN to Ray and Rosella Jacobson. He attended Little Falls High School, where he developed lifelong friendships. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served from 1954-1957. He then enrolled at Moorhead State University, where he was quarterback of the football team and also played basketball and baseball. In college he met fellow student Cheryl “Cherry” Johnson and they married in 1960. Bill graduated with a degree in mathematics in 1961 and they moved to Minneapolis where Bill taught math in the Minneapolis Public School system for 30 years. He retired in 1991 but continued to teach night school for many years. Bill and Cherry had 6 children and made a home in Brooklyn Center, MN, where Bill loved to watch his children play sports, so much that he won the “Spectator of the Year” award from their school. Bill and Cherry enjoyed many travels, including 3 trips to Europe and wintering 17 years in Orange Beach, AL with longtime friends. In 2000, Bill and Cherry moved to Clear Lake, MN where they were able to enjoy time with family and spend many hours boating on the lake.
Bill was an avid golfer, playing almost every day in his later years. He and Cherry loved playing cards, and Bill taught all his children and grandchildren the finer points of cribbage. He was a kind and gentle man who was always ready for a conversation, a beer, and a card game. He was an accomplished athlete who loved sports but was always modest. His Catholic faith was important to him throughout his life.
He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Doris Bernardson, brother Melvin Jacobson and great granddaughter Lennox Granlund. He is survived by his wife Cherry, children Shelly (Michael) Meyer, Shawn (Ken) Springob, Paul (Charlotte) Jacobson, David Jacobson, Jennifer (Mike) Anderson, Christine Jacobson, grandchildren Lindsey (Cory), Garrett, Kelsey (Travis), Dylan, Ryan (Cora), Chloe (Mitch), Brette, Wyatt, Blakke, Alicia, Hope, Michael, and William, great-grandchildren Roman, Brayden, Brecken, Eleanore, Kinsley, and Bauer and many nieces and nephews.
Bill will be interred at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery in Little Falls, and a Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11:00 AM on Saturday, May 22 at St. Lawrence Church in Duelm. Visitation will be an hour prior to the service. A gathering and luncheon will follow at the Stone Creek Golf Club in Foley. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Williams Dingmann Funeral Home in St. Cloud. The family asks that memorials be sent to Alzheimer’s Association.
