BK Blast Archive

Robert Irwin Jacobson, father of BK member Marion Jacobson, passed away on May 28, 2014.

Robert was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1920 and graduated from the Fieldston School in the Bronx, where he received an education grounded in the principles of the Ethical Culture movement. He went on to earn a B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering from MIT. During World War II, Bob helped develop radar technology from MIT’s Radiation Lab. Later, he worked as an electronics engineer at Sperry Gyroscope Co., TRW, and the Federal Aviation Administration. Bob enjoyed working on the FAA’s NEXRAD Doppler radar system, a technology that alerts airports of imminent weather threats—so much so that he retired at age 80 only when his heart condition demanded it.

Bob and his wife Sabina were politically active and aware throughout the Civil Rights movement, working with CORE to agitate for integrated housing in their Long Island suburban community. Bob was an accomplished pianist and cellist, playing in string quartets through his early 90s. He was a cherished and loving husband to Sabina for 64 years, a supernaturally kind, selfless father to Beth, Alice, and Marion, and grandfather of six.