Edmund Jacobs

Edmund Jacobs Edmund Perry Jacobs was born on August 8, 1924 in San Jose, CA to Mary Perry Jacobs, widow of S. Jacobs. He attended school in Campbell, CA, graduating from High School there in 1942. He entered San Jose State College, but left mid year to enlist in the U.S. Navy Preflight program. He completed flight training at Pensacola, Fl, and was stationed out of Quonset Point, RI, to fly open cockpit float bi-planes catapulted off the cruiser, the US Oregon City, searching for German U-boats in the north Atlantic. At the end of WWII, he went on Active Reserve status in order to complete his BS degree at San Jose State College, because he had decided that he wanted to pursue a career in Aviation Medicine. After graduating in 1949, he did graduate research at Stanford while waiting for acceptance to medical school. That acceptance came in 1952 from the University of Chicago School of Medicine. He married Mary Jean Hill of Vallejo, CA in September, and they moved to Chicago that same month. Their first daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was born in Chicago,. Edmund continued flying at Glenview, IL, until medical school duties conflicted with the active reserve status and he had to change to inactive reserve status. As soon as he graduated with his MD, he returned to active duty and reported to the U.S. Naval hospital at Oakland, CA for internship. A second daughter, Sharon Lee, was born during that year. His next assignment was Flight Surgery School at Pensacola, Fl. Upon completion, he chose duty at the Marine Corps Air Station at Quantico, VA. Since the Navy now had jet planes, he petitioned for jet training, and was sent again to Pensacola and later to Beeville, TX to also become jet qualified as a Naval Aviator. A son, Edmund Jr. was born at Beeville. His next assignment was to the Naval Test Center at Patuxent River, MD, where he directed testing and evaluation of aviator equipment- tests subjects included helmets, goggles, parachutes, ejection seats, etc. At Patuxent, he was the final test subject for the testing and acceptance of a ground to air rescue system called Skyhook – a project that he had worked on earlier while at Quantico. After leaving Patuxent, he served as instructor in F4s at the “Right Stuff” squadron at Miramar and also served as the squadron and base medical officer. A tour of duty aboard the USS Kearsarge was followed by a year at UCLA and assignment to the School of Aviation Medicine, Pensacola, to become board certified. Assignment to the USS Hancock for more sea duty in the western Pacific followed. His final duty station was in Washington DC at the Naval Air Systems Command. After 33 years of service, he retired from the Navy as a Captain in February of 1975, and worked until 1978 for the Virginia State Health System. He and his wife moved to Oregon that fall, and began building a solar home on family farm land in the Alvadore/Franklin area. He died on January 28, 2015. At his request, there will be no public services, and inurnment will be in the National Cemetery in Roseburg, OR. Arrangements entrusted to Murphy-Musgrove Funeral Home. Please access the obituary and you are invited to sign the guestbook at musgroves.com