Nathan L. Jacobson

A native of Chester, Nate Jacobson, born in 1929, was raised on a farm on Goose Hill Rd., graduated from Chester High School, where he lettered in baseball and track, served in and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army (1947-48), and then attended Cornell University from whom he received a degree in civil engineering and was elected a member of Chi Epsilon, a national civil engineering honorary society. He was employed for several years as a project engineer for a large New York state based heavy construction contracting company and then returned to Chester and was employed for a number of years by a large consulting engineering firm, where he became an associate, chief engineer of their CT office, and manager of their Water Resources Division. He left that firm in 1972 to found his own firm, Nathan L. Jacobson & Associates, a civil and environmental engineering firm located in Chester. He was a registered professional engineer in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. Nate retired as president of his firm in June 1998 but continued to work as a consultant to the firm until 2013.

Nate married the love of his life, Geraldine (Gerry) Mylnarcik of Middletown in 1953, who after 69 years of marriage, predeceased him in 2023. After living out of state for several years, they returned to settle in Chester in 1957, where they built a home on the family homestead. He leaves behind his son, Geoffrey and wife Carol, daughter Nadine and husband David. Nate was blessed with five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. He was enormously proud of his family and spending time with them was his greatest joy.

Nate presented papers before the national engineering organizations, lectured at New York State Department of Environmental Conservation workshops concerned with wastewater treatment and was listed in Who's Who in Engineering. He was a member of a number of professional organizations and was a life member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He was active in local affairs, having served on the Chester's Planning Commission as its chairman, Board of Assessors, Finance Board, and Economic Development Commission, and the Connecticut River Estuary Regional Planning Agency. He also served as a corporator of the former Chester Bank, a director of Camp Hazen YMCA, a director of Connecticut Engineers in Private Practice, and on the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection advisory committee on revision to the Land Treatment Design Manual and was the lead author of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection's “Guidance and Standards for Large Scale On-Site Wastewater Renovation Systems.”

Nate joined the Pattaconk Yacht Club in 1969 and served in a number of roles including Treasurer, Vice Commodore, and Commodore. He was an avid boater traveling and exploring the entire eastern seaboard from southern Florida to Maine and belonged to the Coast Guard Auxiliary and Power Squadron where he taught entry level and advanced courses in navigation. He was extremely proud of his boating family, all of whom continue to enjoy life on the water.

During Nates retirement years he was found in his wood working shop crafting keepsake pieces for his children and grandchildren, and when not in his shop, he spent countless hours conducting extensive researching in preserving the history of Chester for future generations resulting in the publication of two books for the Chester Historical Society including “The Streams, Mill Dams, and Mills of Chester” and “The Waterhouse Grist Mill Saga”. To complement his books, he constructed a working model of the Waterhouse Gristmill that is on permanent exhibit at the Chester Historical Society Museum at the Mill.

For those who were fortunate enough to know him, Nate Jacobson was more than an engineer. He was a mentor, a leader, a businessman, a storyteller, a published author, a family man and a friend. He proved that a young man from a small Chester farm could build a successful company, strengthen communities across Connecticut, and touch countless lives without ever losing sight of the values that first shaped him. That is a legacy worth celebrating.

To honor Nate’s passion for giving back to the community donations in his memory may be made to Chester Hose Company, Chester Historical Society or Camp Hazen YMCA. As Nate wished, services will be private.