Irene A. Jacobsen, 98, died Monday, December 9, 2024 at her home in Cocoa Beach, FL. Irene was born on August 4, 1926, in Brooklyn, NY, the son of Polish parents, Walter and Antonina (Stefanska) Kuminski. Irene was a first-generation American. She also continued to celebrate her Polish heritage with her children and extended family throughout her life. She grew up in Brooklyn as part of a large, tight-knit family, including 6 siblings: Jean, Helen, Ted, and Stanley, all of which predeceased their sister; and Wanda who survives her sister. Irene met her husband, Alfred Jacobsen in Brooklyn and they were married in Brooklyn in 1951. Al was Irene’s lifelong partner for 63 years, as he died in 2014.
Irene and Alfred decided a move out of Brooklyn to upstate NY was a good opportunity, shortly after their marriage. That started 67 years of hopscotching around the United States, as did many of their generation- always looking for a better opportunity or a better place to make their life. They lived in Seneca Falls, where they started their family in 1953, including a son, Tom, and a daughter, Carol. They moved their home to Poughkeepsie, NY, and later to South Burlington, VT.
Irene had a well-established career outside the home: first working at Vassar College (NY): and later working at the University of Vermont Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics for almost 30 years. Ultimately, she assumed the de facto role of office manager. Irene very much enjoyed the accounting aspects of her work. She also enjoyed maintaining the family finances and that continued until just a few years ago. Irene passed her love of numbers and accounting along to her son and they worked together on the family finances for the last decade.
In the late 1960s, Irene and Alfred built a second home on the shores of Lake Champlain in South Hero, VT. They enjoyed the relaxed country and lakeshore lifestyle on weekends away from South Burlington. In 1975 they moved to South Hero, which at that time was a long way out from the town and at times life on the lake could be a little rugged, especially in the winter. That would have been quite a change for the city girl growing up in Brooklyn, but she adapted. In the 1980s they established another second home in Cocoa Beach, FL: at first spending extended vacations; and then becoming snowbirds to enjoy summer weather during the winter months in the 1990s. Irene continued the snowbird routine until moving to Cocoa Beach for the entire year in 2019. She enjoyed living by the lake and the ocean. Irene was an athlete for much of her life and enjoyed competing in tennis: from the courts of Brooklyn to those in Vermont, and finally in Florida. She was also very much her own woman and well ahead of her time: whether that was in the home or the workplace. As an example, she stayed in VT and continued to work full-time, after her husband retired and started spending part of the year in Florida. Irene also had an artistic side, enjoying sewing, weaving, painting and poetry. Later Irene enjoyed almost 30 years of retirement watching the sun set over Lake Champlain or the Atlantic waves wash up on the Florida beach.
The most lasting impression of my Mom, that I (Tom) learned over many years from my brief visits to her homes in Vermont or Florida was the genuine love and caring that her neighbors, and everyone she came into contact with, had for her. I only hope that I learned enough from my Mom, that someday people will say the same about me. Thanks Mom, for showing me the right way to live one’s life.
Irene is survived by her son, Tom (VT) and her daughter, Carol of South Hero, VT, as well as numerous extended family members.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, December 20, 2024 at 11am in the South Hero Congregational Church on South Street, South Hero, VT.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Starts at 11:00 am (Eastern time)
South Hero Congregational Church
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