Mina Jacobsen

Mina Jacobsen, age 97, passed away on September, 15, 2023, at Cottage in the Meadow in Yakima, WA. She was born on April 15, 1926 in Marktl, Germany to Joseph Mayer III and Kunigunde (Fischer) Mayer. She was the youngest of 9 children. In 1950 Mina met Arnold Jacobsen Sr. (“Arnie”), an American serviceman in the Air Force who was stationed in Germany. They married in Munich, Germany on October 23, 1951. A few months later they moved to California for Arnie’s next assignment. For the next 17 years Mina traveled with Arnie and their two children, Arnie Jr. and Karen, to Air Force bases in France and the states of Kansas, California and Washington. They settled in the state of Washington when Arnie retired from the Air Force in 1968. After years of living in military housing, Mina and Arnie were excited to purchase their first home in Puyallup, Washington. Mina loved western Washington with all the pine trees and the mountains as it reminded her of Bavaria Germany where she grew up. She loved working in the yard and gardens at their home in Puyallup and at their later homes in Fircrest and Lakewood. Mina’s other hobbies included sewing and working crossword puzzles. Over the years Mina made numerous trips to see her family in Germany and to California to see her daughter and her family. She was also a dog-lover. She and Arnie had dogs during most of their marriage. She also formed special connections with other people’s dogs that responded to her smiles and pets. Mina moved to Yakima in 2016 when Arnie’s health declined. After a wonderful marriage of 66 years, he passed away in 2017. For the past 7 years Mina’s home has been at Rexford Manor Retirement Community. She developed wonderful friendships and sincerely cared for many of the residents and the staff. Mina was a kind, generous, loving woman. Her family was the most important thing to her, and she loved them all unselfishly. They all felt her love daily and they will carry that love and their wonderful memories of her with them forever. Mina is survived by her son, Arnie Jacobsen Jr. (Jo) and her daughter, Karen Hampshire (Dave). She is also survived by her two grandchildren, Melissa Donald (Ryan) and Kristen Williams (Gary), and her three great-grandsons, Walden Donald, Eli and Noah Williams. She is also survived by nieces and nephews. The family would like to express their gratitude to the staff of Yakima Memorial Hospice & Home Care for the excellent care they gave to Mina at her home. They also want to thank the Cottage in the Meadow staff for their kindness, compassion, and excellent quality care of Mina while she was there. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Mina Jacobsen, please visit our flower store.