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In Memory of
Mark Jacobson
02/12/67 - 01/29/04
2003 USA National Marathon ICF K-1 Champion.
Photo by Glen F. Green
Picture taken after Mark won the Men's ICF K-1 Marathon Championship at the USCA
Nationals this summer.
Mark said it was one of the high points of his life
Please
Donate to College Fund for Mark's Son
(click
to go to Fund page)
ACCIDENT REPORT:
NEW MILFORD - A man cross-country skiing across frozen Candlewood Lake died Thursday evening after being struck by a snowmobile.
The freak accident occurred about 6:30 p.m., in the dark, on the ice in the area of Candlewood Shore Road, according to Matt Fritz, spokesman for the
state Department of Environmental Protection..
The name of the skier, who was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, was being withheld pending notification of his next of kin, authorities
said. The name of the snowmobile driver was also unavailable, but Fritz said he was a 33-year-old Danbury man. He declined medical treatment.
New Milford Police said the snowmobile was traveling south toward Brookfield when it hit the skier.
Firefighters from the Water Witch Hose Co. and Gaylordsville Volunteer Fire Department used an all-terrain vehicle and a trailer to haul the victim back
to shore. LifeStar helicopter was dispatched to transport the victim, but turned back before reaching the scene after he was pronounced dead.
Fritz said the accident is under investigation by DEP's Law Enforcement Division and New Milford Police. No charges have yet been filed, he said.
A WONDERFUL MAN
Skiier who died on lake was kayaker, scientist
By Kamilla Gary THE NEWS-TIMES 2004-02-03 ‘
NEW MILFORD — Mark Jacobson was a man of many talents. As a scientist for
Nestle, he held 13 patents. As a kayaker, he won a national championship last
year. And as a husband and father, no one was better, Janice Greco said of her
son-in-law, who died last week when he was struck by a snowmobile while
cross-country skiing on Candlewood Lake.
"A wonderful man,” Greco said Monday. "He and my daughter (Denise)
met about eight years ago, they were such soulmates. "From the moment they
met until he died, they had the most wonderful time. They packed more in eight
years than most people do in a lifetime,” Greco said. She said the couple
hiked across Switzerland, Costa Rica and throughout national parks in the United
States. When their son, Aidan, was born 16 months ago, they began taking him
along on trips, too. Janice Greco said Aidan would wake up at 6 a.m. every
morning for play time with his father. "That was his time with Aidan; it
was so special. He was a great dad,” Janice Greco said. "I considered him
a son, not a son-in-law,” Peter Greco said. "The bright star is that his
son is a happy-go-lucky individual. The saddest thing is that he won’t know
his father.”
Jacobson was 36 when he died. To keep his memory from fading, his wife, Denise
Jacobson, had the more than 400 people who attended Sunday’s memorial service
write a description of him in a guest book. Aidan will read it when he gets
older. No doubt some of his friends wrote about his love for kayaking.
Throughout his competitive career, he won many events, including a Junior
Olympic title. Last year, in Pennsylvania he became a national champion, winning
the kayaking marathon at the U.S. Canoe Association event in Pennsylvania.
On Monday, the association created a memorial page for Jacobson on its Web site.
There is a photo showing a trim man with short blond hair and muscular forearms
hoisting his championship trophy. He is smiling broadly. "Mark said it was
one of the high points of his life,” the photo caption reads. "He was
very competitive in his races. In every competition, he just blows everyone
away,” Janice Greco said. "Other than his family, kayaking was his
passion.”
Mark Jacobson also made strides in the field of science. "For someone
relatively young, he was well-known among members of the scientific community,”
said Simon Livings, director of scientific support at Nestle in New Milford,
where Jacobson worked for 10 years. Livings was Jacobson’s supervisor. He
remembered a colleague who smiled a lot. "The science community is less
without him. He was a very extraordinary guy,” Livings said. "He was a
very prolific and innovative scientist.” According to Livings, had obtained 13
published product patents while working with the food company, including patents
for gelatin-free products and calcium-iron fortification of food.
A graduate of Purdue University with a doctorate degree in carbohydrate
chemistry, Jacobson also had six technical papers published. At Jacobson’s
memorial service, Livings said between 70 and 80 people from Nestle attended to
pay their respects. Some came from the company’s offices in Glendale, Calif.
"This place is full of good scientists, but to be an excellent scientist,
excellent family man and excellent in sports, that’s really unique,” Livings
said. Dr. Elaine Wedral, product technology president at Nestle, said she hired
Mark Jacobson right out of Purdue 10 years ago. She said it was clear he had a
bright future and was bound to reach high-level positions. "He was very
observant. He was able to state things factually without getting emotional,”
Wedral said.
Over the years, she watched him mature, and as the company’s mission changed
from food products to food services, Mark Jacobson adapted right along with it.
Wedral also said although Mark Jacobson was a well-disciplined scientist, he
could still get people to laugh. "We all loved his smile and his dry sense
of humor. You wouldn’t always know if he was teasing you or that he was
pulling your leg,” Wedral said. "He was also enthusiastic. Give him an
assignment and he would go after it with gusto. It was a real privilege for me
to know him.”
Contact Kamilla Gary at kgary@newstimes.com or at (860) 354-2274.
Reprinted by the kind permission of The News Times http://www.newstimes.com
WORDS FROM FRIENDS
I grew up with Mark Jacobson. His dad and my dad were both college professors
at Washington and Jefferson College in western PA. Our two families went on many
outdoor adventures together including skiing and paddling trips as well as just
picnics. I went with Mark and his dad to my first ski races over 20 years ago.
They were both instrumental in helping me develop my love for xc skiing which
has since become my life long activity as well as paddling.
I also competed on a couple triathlon teams with Mark in the 1980s before we
both left the idyllic hills of western PA. After we moved away we lost contact
even though I would often check on how he was doing when I saw Mark's dad or
when my dad passed along information. Last fall I got back in touch with Mark
Jacobson (thanks to the Weston MA Mark Jacobson who knew him via mutual paddling
contacts) and we had planned on going skiing together sometime this winter and
maybe paddling in the spring.
Mark completed his PhD in chemistry at Purdue, worked for Nestle near New
Milford CT and was becoming a well known scientist with many patents. Mark
leaves behind a wife and a 16 month old son.
When I knew Mark well, he was one of the nicest and most focused individuals I
have ever had the honor to know. From excellent articles in the local paper, It
appears the Mark I knew in his childhood and young adult years had not changed
much at all.
The world is better place due to Mark and he will be missed by many.
Enjoy every day,
John Hart
It is with deep regret that we say farewell to Mark Jacobson. In a freak accident, Mark was struck by a snowmobile on the evening of Thursday, 1/29/2004 while cross-country skiing across frozen Candlewood Lake near New Milford, CT. His competitive drive and constant smile will truly be missed.
>
Tim Allen
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