David Philip Jacobsen

1931 - 2020

Goodyear Arizona David Philip Jacobsen, 89, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend, was taken home to our Lord Jesus Christ on December 23, 2020. Born in Altadena, California on May 5, 1931, to Jacob and Anna Jacobsen, David was the youngest brother of Beatrice Mullison, Carla Forbes, Donald Jacobsen, and Doris Fisher. He grew up in South Pasadena, California where he graduated from South Pasadena High School and attended John Muir College. In 1953, David married his first wife, Sara Mara (Sally) Garrabrant. He was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict where he served until 1955 in the U.S. Army Dental Corps at Fort Ord in Monterey, California. After an honorable discharge, he returned to UCLA and received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles in June 1956. He continued with graduate studies at UCLA in hospital administration, and his healthcare career began at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California. David had over forty years of experience as a hospital administrator throughout California and Colorado. After his divorce, his career took him to Saudi Arabia and Lebanon in the 1980s. On May 25, 1985, during his tenure as Director of the American University of Beirut Medical Center, David was kidnapped and held hostage by Islamic terrorists under the direction of Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Through the efforts of President Ronald Reagan and Col. Oliver North, he was released after seventeen months on November 2, 1986, following a sale of arms to Iran. Public knowledge of this resulted in the Iran-Contra Affair during President Reagan's final term and placed an international spotlight on David. Immediately after his release, he was front and center working tirelessly for the freedom of the remaining American and British hostages. David cooperated closely with U.S. Intelligence Services and successfully lobbied Congress to enable American victims of state-sponsored terrorism to sue nations such as Iran for damages. This has become a visible means of justice for the thousands of American victims of terrorism. David spent decades laboring to educate the American Public in the culpability of Iran as the primary source of Islamic terrorism throughout the world. David returned to healthcare administration in the thirteen years following his release until his retirement in 2001. He married his second wife, Joyce Vanek in 1998. Continuing to travel extensively as a motivational speaker and advocate for victims of terrorism, David also authored books on his experience as a hostage and one on the challenges facing healthcare in the United States. Through private, independent efforts seeking his release from captivity, David met and became involved with the human rights and relief organizations Friends in the West and the African Children's Choir, on which he served on the Board of Directors. David, like his father Jacob, enjoyed tending his garden at his homes in Huntington Beach, Tehachapi, Colinga and Jamul, California and Durango, Colorado. David also enjoyed travel, beginning with family vacations throughout California and across the United States. His international travels took him to Europe, Africa, Central America and Asia, and he especially loved visiting Rome. Along with his wife, Joyce, David visited over 22 countries around the world. At 50 years old, on a bet, David quit smoking and exercise became one of his favorite activities for the rest of his life. In Saudi Arabia, he began jogging through the desert each morning before work, and as a hostage in Lebanon, he exercised daily to survive the stress of his confinement, doing hundreds of push-ups and sit-ups in his windowless cell. The routine of daily exercise continued through his final years. After retirement, David would ride his bicycle to the gym daily to lift weights and work with his personal trainer. At 81 years old, he hiked to the top of Vernal Falls in Yosemite, and the following year completed an eleven mile hike with his family around Lake Arrowhead in Southern California. Even when his physical strength began to deteriorate, he still enjoyed sessions at home with his personal trainer that strengthened his body and mind. David believed his greatest purpose in this life was to protect, provide for, and encourage his family and friends (and his dogs). He was unselfish, generous and determined when it came to helping someone in need. David was always an optimist, even in the darkest times. As a hostage, he would encourage his fellow hostages with the hope of a pending release the coming Saturday. If it did not happen as he predicted, he would simply say that he had miscalculated and freedom would come the next Saturday. His family and friends were all too familiar with his catch phrases for coping with the suffering and pain of life in a positive, proactive way: "D. I. N. Do It Now", "99% of worry is wasted time", and "EGBOK Everything is Going to Be OK". David had an inner strength and determination that conquered the trauma of his captivity and uplifted all those who knew him. David is survived by his wife, Joyce Jacobsen; his children, Eric and Catherine Jacobsen, Paul and Lori Jacobsen, Diane and Richard Martinez, and step-daughter Milissa Hughes; eleven grandchildren, John Martinez, Jake Martinez, Dylan Martinez, Carly Walker, Charley Martinez, Joseph Jacobsen, Philip Jacobsen, Stephen Jacobsen, Erika Zemanek, and step-grandchildren Cami Moe, and Mackenzie Moore; and three great-grandchildren, Hannah Zemanek, Levi Zemanek, and Adam Martinez. David was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Church as a child before finding his final home in the Roman Catholic Church. He requested the celebration of a Catholic funeral Mass, and interment will follow at Singing Hills Memorial Park in El Cajon, California.