Robert Jacobsen ’53

Robert Jacobsen ’53, of Wheaton, Ill.; Nov. 4. After Brown, he served in the Army for two years during the Korean War, then joined the packaging industry working with Continental Can Company. Later in his career at Continental, he served as executive vice president and introduced beverage cans and vending machines to South Korea. He and his family moved to Wheaton in 1971, but from 1983 to 1987, he and his wife lived in South Korea while he managed a can plant. In 1987, he returned to Wheaton and remained employed with U.S. Can Corporation until 1998. He then consulted for DS Containers until his passing. He was a local history enthusiast who was the driving force behind three museum exhibits in DuPage County.  He was the longtime chairman of the Milton Township Cemeteries Authority, which ultimately cleaned up and restored three pioneer cemeteries in Milton Township, and he organized and planned annual Family Remembrance Day events at each cemetery. He was also responsible for a golf exhibit in Wheaton that was unveiled in 2006. Working with the DuPage County Historical Museum, he wrote and assembled the book Wheaton, Illinois: Golf History Starts Here, which the museum published in 2018. As part of a greater focus on golf history in Wheaton, he led a team of local historians to nominate golf course architect Herbert Tweedie for the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame, and the group celebrated Tweedie’s induction in 2021. He was an avid golfer and had been a member of the Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton since 1973. He is survived by his wife, Caroline; a son; daughter Jennifer Jordan ’83; and six grandchildren.