Kenneth James Jacobson 90, of Sterling passed away November 18, 2023. A Celebration of life will be at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, January 27, at Sterling Elk's Lodge, 321 Ash Street, Sterling, CO.

Kenneth James Jacobson was born on or about March 1, 1933, at an unknown location.  He had no certificate of birth, so dates are approximate.  He was adopted by Floyd D. Jacobson and E. Lenore Jacobson on November 13, 1935, in Grant, Perkins County Nebraska.  Floyd had been his foster parent for a period of time before the adoption.  After adopting Ken, Floyd and Lenore went on to have two children of their own: first Scott in 1942 and Michael in 1947.

Ken was later Baptized in Columbus, Nebraska on November 11, 1945, at Grace Church and confirmed also at Grace Church on March 17, 1946.

Ken's father Floyd had an eighth-grade education but displayed an impressive understanding of business and math.  So much that Farmers Union Elevator would move Floyd and his family from one failing location to another until each became profitable.

Ken grew up in small farming communities but did not want to become a farmer. Instead, he always wanted to join the service when he became of age.  When he was 18, he joined the Air Force leaving behind his past and also a pregnant girlfriend to give birth to and raise his son. Ken enjoyed his life in the military and spent 20 years serving his country from July 10, 1951, until August 31, 1971. While stationed in France in 1957 he met and later married Brenda Alexander on April 10, 1958. The way the story went, when you get married in France, the service is performed by the mayor of the town in which you marry.  The service is performed in the French language.  Brenda's understanding of the French language was very limited, so Brenda was not certain if they were married or if the mayor just blessed Ken's car.  Prior to consummating the marriage Brenda insisted on being married a second time on base, this ceremony was indeed done in English.

Ken and Brenda had three boys together; James who was born in March 1959, Raymond born June 1961, and Brian born March 1966.  In 2008, the family was introduced to another son Gerald Indra (from Ken's pregnant girlfriend) and Gerald's wife Karen from Freemont, NE.  Later, the family was introduced to their two boys, Kevin and Jason and great grandchildren, also from Freemont, NE.

Around 1972, Ken and Brenda moved their family from Hoffman Heights subdivision to Aurora Hills in Aurora, Colorado.  After retirement from the Air Force, Ken worked as a catalog writer for Gates Rubber Company in Denver, CO and his job had him on the road traveling the country very often.  This went on for a period of three years until Brenda told him that he might as well have stayed in the service for the amount of time he was with his family.  So, after a little more persuasion from Brenda, Ken left Gates Rubber Company and went to work for Allstate Insurance as an insurance adjustor.  Working so much to provide for his family left little to no time for family adventures.  He did a good job providing for his family as his children never had any wants that did not get fulfilled.  At the age of 59 in 1992, he had a heart attack and continued to have heart problems for some years.  Ken took a medical retirement from Allstate in 1996 after 21 years of employment.  He never went back to work again.

Being adopted always weighed heavily on Ken's heart, and in 2018 information would be found that would change his life. Through a match on Ancestory.com, his son Brian informed him that he may have an elder brother living in Holyoke, Colorado.  At that time, Brian's business included DNA testing, so we had a golden opportunity. Brian sent two collection kits to James for him to collect samples from Ken and this other person from Holyoke.  On February 18, 2018, Ken met with Ted Roos of Holyoke, Colorado at the J n L Café in Sterling, Colorado where they visited, and both agreed to see if they were indeed related.

Well guess what? A match of 99.98% came back confirming that they were at least half-brothers.  This match could have been that they shared the same mother or the same father. Ken did not care either way, what mattered to him was that he had a brother.  To listen to them talk, you would swear that they grew up together.  His children just wish that Brenda was still alive to experience the joy with him.  James and Brian took it upon ourselves to have the samples retested to see if a full sibling ship was possible. That result came back also at 99.98%, Ted and Ken have the same mom and dad.  In the fall of 2018, the last name of Japp and Carwin kept coming up through Ancestory.com.  James had known three Carwin's for 30 years, and finally contacted Randy Carwin in Sterling, Colorado at his place of business. He delicately explained the situation, and asked Randy if he would submit to a DNA test to see if they were related.  Randy agreed, so Brian sent out three more test kits for testing between Randy and Ted, and for Randy and Ken to see if they shared the same mother and father.  The results came back as a 99.99% match, so they were related!  You can just imagine what was going through both Ken's and Ted's minds at the time.  Come to find out that they both went from being adopted without any knowledge of their past, to being part of a family of nine siblings, with Ted being the eldest and Ken being the second oldest.  Neither of them was ever able to meet their biological parents since both parents had passed.  It is highly likely that Ken and his mother had seen each other in Sterling without knowing who the other was.

Neither Ken nor Ted ever met their brother Dutch as he had also passed, and had not met their sister Bonnie Carwin of Greeley, but had spoken with her on the phone.  On numerous occasions Ken and Ted met the rest of the family; Lorrance (Spike) of Montana, Donna of Loveland, Gary of Greeley, Randy of Crook, and Gene of Ft. Morgan who has since passed. There were multiple get-togethers that included meals and long visits to learn more about each other.  Ken planned a family get together in Sterling in August 2019, which was well attended by the family.  Ken enjoyed learning of his family history and enjoyed talking about his new- found family. He thought it was awfully funny that most of the family never left Northeastern Colorado.

Ken was preceded in death by his wife Brenda in June 2012, after a short battle with breast cancer while she was staying with James in Sterling. This resulted in all of Ken's time and attention being devoted to his second son Raymond, who was mentally handicapped since birth.  Raymond was Ken's reason for living, and with himself not being in the best health, moved both himself and Raymond to Sterling to live with James.  Raymond endured a short illness and passed away in March 2016, which wore heavily on Ken and he took very hard.  Ken will join both Brenda and Raymond at Fort Logan National Cemetery located in Englewood, Colorado with full military honors at a later date.

Ken is survived by three sons, Gerald (Karen), James (Teri) and Brian (Cynthia).  Additionally, Ken is survived by five grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, six siblings and many generations of nieces and nephews, both foreign and domestic.

Ken's family respectfully requests that no plants or flowers be sent and that you may make a donation to Hospice of the Plains, 100 Broadway, Suite 1A, Sterling, CO 80751.