ROBERT S. JACOBSON

1924 - 2013

Founding Member and Past President of the Pocahontas County Historical Society

Robert S. Jacobson, “Bob,” passed away February 15, 2013, at his home in Palm Harbor, Florida, under the care of Hospice.

He was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, on October 30, 1924, the seventh son of Carl A. and Mary E. Metzger Jacobson. On December 26, 1947, he married Elisabeth Ann “Libby” Brown of Summersville, WV. They had one daughter, Mary Elizabeth Jacobson, of Green Spring, WV

At West Virginia University, Bob was a member of the football and track teams, Phi Kappa Psi, Phi Beta Kappa, Delta Sigma Theta, YMCA, and Wesley Foundation. He graduated from WVU in 1947 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. Bob and Libby then moved to Creed, WV, and he worked in Charleston, WV, as assistant engineer of the Division of Sanitary Engineering for WV Department of Health (1951/52). He then returned to WVU to attend Law School.

Following graduation from Law School, the family moved to Tappan, NY. For two years he worked for a New York City law firm before returning to Franklin, WV, to serve as interim Prosecuting Attorney in Pendleton County. The family then moved to Marlinton, WV, where for 10 years, he maintained a private practice and was Prosecuting Attorney (eight years) of Pocahontas County, WV. In 1969, the family moved to Greenbrier County, Lewisburg, WV, where he maintained a private practice. Bob also practiced law in Florida for many years.

Bob was active in many civic, professional, and philanthropic organizations. He was a member of Lewisburg United Methodist Church, Lewisburg, WV. He was a former member of the Board of Governors of the WV State Bar serving three years representing a six-county area. In Pocahontas and Greenbrier counties, he was a bank director and organizer.

Historical preservation and genealogy were two of his passions: Pocahontas County, WV, Historical Society and Museum, Pearl S. Buck Birthplace and Foundation, Hillsboro, WV, historical societies in Greenbrier County, WV, Pinellas County, FL, and Burnett County, WI. He secured placement of his paternal grandparent’s home place (Jacobson House and Mill Site, Wood Lake, WI) on the National Register of Historical Places. The voyage of the Viking Ship Hjemkomst (1982) from Duluth, MN, to Oslo, Norway, captured his interest and philanthropic generosity. Other passions were the arts, learning, cycling, and architectural design. Many summers he spent at Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY, taking classes and attending lectures and concerts.

Surviving are his daughter, Mary E. “Beth” Jacobson (Tim Bateman), Green Spring, WV; Betty Jo Morgan, loving friend and devoted caregiver, Ronceverte, WV; granddaughter, Sarah E. Russell Sanchez (Roy) and two great grandchildren, Addison and Silas Sanchez, Greensboro NC; sisters-in-law, Alice Brown Juergens, Morgantown, WV, and Gloria Jacobson, Northridge, CA, and numerous nephews and nieces.