Jean was born in Chicago in 1923, to Oletha Butler and William Evelyn McCommins. She moved to San Diego when she was three years old, so she considered herself an “almost native.” She attended McKinley Elementary, Roosevelt Junior High, San Diego High, and SDSU. She played cello in the orchestra at SDHS when Nino Marcelli was the conductor of the San Diego Symphony.
While working for the County of San Diego, a mutual friend introduced her to John Jacobsen, a decorated war veteran and fellow County employee. They were married a year later in 1952 and remained together until John’s passing in December1986.
In her later years, she volunteered at the San Diego Natural History Museum and at the Mingei International Museum. She also enjoyed traveling throughout the US and Canada, and also visited the UK, Russia, China, Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium, Germany, Africa, and Spain. She enjoyed home-exchange experiences in both the US and Europe.
She is survived by her sons Brad and Chris, and their spouses Tom and Alison; her granddaughter Erica and her husband Erick; her twin great-granddaughters, Violet and Willow; and her beloved dog, Buddy.
Remembrances should be sent to the San Diego Natural History Museum and the Mingei International Museum.
