Bradley Jacobson

Bradley Lee Jacobson, fondly known as “Bad Brad,” was born in Omaha Nebraska on July 28, 1930 and he left this journey for a new one on April 29, 2018 surrounded by his loving family. He was the only child of Albert and Rachel Jacobson and was raised with love on a wheat farm in Potter, NE where he raised ducks, turkeys, chickens and he won grand champion for his sheep at the Nebraska State fair. He had 72 first cousins in Cheyenne County, Nebraska. He went to school with the Cabela boys (of Cabela’s) and he tied flies with them in their garage. He got his pilot’s license at age 16 and crop-dusted local farms. He loved to fly and owned several planes over the years.

He proudly served in the US Army in Korea as an instrumentation technician as well as a medic.

He married Helen Rezac in 1950. In 1953, they moved with their three children, Connie, Linda and Briana to Pagosa Springs, CO and bought a 1,921-acre cattle ranch 12 miles south of Pagosa Springs in the Bell’s Schoolhouse District, where they had another son, Vaughn. He ran 100 head of heifers on his ranch. In 1959, he married Peggy Seavy, who he said was the love of his life, and they had four children: Tawnya, Millard, Shawn and Rachelle.

He was a member of the Oddfellows Lodge in Pagosa Springs where he held numerous offices and volunteered in the community. He worked for the United States as a government trapper for predator control for the agriculture industry and taught his kids the trade. In Durango in the early 1960s, he managed and bartended at the VFW and a local steakhouse. He was a an electrician and medic at the Eisenhower, Asatea and Oso water diversion tunnels and liked to tell the story about coming out of the tunnel after a 12-hour shift near Leadville, CO in the middle of July to snow. He was a fire lookout for the Forest Service with his wife Peggy at the Devil Mountain Lookout Tower near Chimney Rock. He worked at the sawmill in both Durango and Pagosa Springs as an electrician from the mid-60s to late-70s, and also managed the Weminuche Valley Ranch in the Upper Piedra.

He retired from PNM Power Plant in Farmington, NM at age 63 where he worked as an electrician and was nominated by his fellow workers to serve as the union steward. He married Mary Nordman in New Mexico and they moved to Yuma, AZ where they lived for 13 years with their cat Precious. He spent the last year of his life in Durango, CO with his son Shawn and wife Sarah and his cat Shadow, whom he adored.

He owned the Polaris, Ski-doo and Artic Cat dealership/rental tours in Pagosa. He was a proud member of the local snowmobiling club, “the snow goers” even taking his very young kids on the first snowmobile trek from Creede to Lake City, CO, including winter camping!

Brad was an avid fisherman and supported his kids in rodeo, 4-H (as a leader) and high school sports. He loved to dance, teaching his daughters to dance while standing on the tops of his feet. He could even do the schottische (a Bohemian folk-dance) on roller skates!

He loved spending time with his family and his eyes sparkled when he told stories about his children. He never met a stranger and everyone who knew him loved him and respected him. He leaves to carry on his legacy his 5 surviving children: Shawn Jacobson (Sarah), Millard Jacobson (Tawnya Sue), Tawnya Jacobson, Vaughn Jacobson and Briana Jacobson (Mike Richardson), 17 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. Welcoming him home are his loving parents and his daughters Rachelle, Linda and Connie.

There will be a celebration of his life on Saturday, May 5 at 10:30 a.m. at Centerpoint Church, 2750 Cornerstone Drive, in Pagosa Springs, CO with a reception to follow.