Thomas Jacobs

Sun Prairie-Tom Jacobs dropped his weed-wacker and moved onto weedless lawns suddenly on Thursday, June 7th, at the age of 68. He was known in his family for his generosity his quick wit, and dry sense of humor, often coming up with good and bad one-liners, puns, and stories.

He was born April 3rd, 1950, in the middle of a large ice storm in Clinton, Iowa to Dick and Merle Jacobs, the middle of 11 children. He graduated from Clinton High School in 1968, the year the school burned down.

He attended Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa for a brief turn, then he left school only to receive an invitation from Uncle Sam. A conscientious objector, he served a year and a half as an ambulance driver at Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington.

He returned to Iowa State and graduated in 1974 in Computer Science. On August 18, 1973, he married Judi Kopecky of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They moved to Des Moines where he worked for the state until they moved to Madison, WI in 1976, where he was employed by the state of Wisconsin as a programmer for various departments. They were surprised in 1978 by the arrival of twin daughters, Jennifer and Rachel.

Tom eventually went to work for the company which is now known as Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation; he retired from there in 2015. While working there, he kept computers running in order to help college students acquire and maintain debt. Upon retirement he expected many more years of boat building and woodworking, along with time with family. His life, like his boat, remains unfinished.

He is survived by his wife Judi, and daughters, Rachel Jacobs, of Lexington, KY and Jenni Jacobs (Sankar Gopalasubramanian) of Palatine, Illionis. The final joys of his life are his grandchildren, Anya and Arun Subramanian. He is also survived by 8 siblings and their spouses: Pat (Sister Carmel) of Arizona,Richard and Martha of Arizona, Mary and Mike Smith of Arizona, Jim and Karen of Ohio, Ed and Theresa of Racine, WI, Mike and Leonor of West Virginia, Jean Dillon of Missouri, Jackie Martin of Madison, WI, and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his grandmother Lydia, parents, Dick and Merle Jacobs, and 2 of his sisters, Joanie and Ellen.

Visitation will be from 1:00 - 3:00 PM on Friday, June 15, 2018 at the Cress Funeral Home, 1310 Emerald Terrace, Sun Prairie, WI 53590 with a Funeral Service to begin at 3:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to 2nd Harvest Food Bank, 2802 Dairy Dr, Madison, WI 53718 or The Dane County Humane Society, 5132 Voges Rd, Madison, WI 53718.

Cress Funeral & Cremation Service
1310 Emerald Terrace
Sun Prairie, WI 53590
608-837-9054