Covenant News

Service for Evelyn Jacobson Set for Monday

BOZEMAN, MT (January 16, 2003) - Services will be held Monday at the Moles/Green Acres Funeral Home in Ferndale, Washington, for Evelyn Jacobson, who died last Friday at her residence, the Mountain View Care Center in Bozeman.

The 95-year-old Jacobson was the widow of retired Covenant pastor Hilding Jacobson, who served Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) congregations for 40 years. The two met after Hilding had been in ministry for nearly a decade.

Jacobson's family noted her gifts of friendship, help and encouragement that were evident throughout her final years. Her gift of hospitality, her visitation skills and willingness to mentor those around her was particularly meaningful to parishioners. In a recent Bozeman newspaper article, the family mentioned a letter from a friend that described her well. "You (Evelyn) just seem to have that kind of love that reached as far as there are people to love," the letter reads.

Born in Osage City, Kansas, on August 10, 1907, Evelyn Jacobson earned her undergraduate degree in education at Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas, and used those skills in teaching at local schools and as a Bible study leader at her church. Her teaching talents continued to blossom as she and her husband made ministry an ongoing partnership after they married on May 1, 1934.

The couple began their ministry together in Brandon, South Dakota, at Swedona Covenant Church and in nearby Larchwood, Iowa, at Grandview Covenant Church, serving 11 years. In 1945 they moved to Wheaton, Minnesota, where Hilding was pastor at Mission Covenant Church and Evelyn was a valuable helpmate. They were known to their congregation as "Ev and the Rev" during two decades there, said the family.

Evelyn and Hilding moved to Bellingham, Washington, in 1965. After a one-year interim pastorate, the pair was active in teaching and mentoring ministries at the Bellingham Covenant Church. Following Hilding's death in 1989, Evelyn moved to Bozeman and lived near her daughter, Judy Worley.

Jacobson is survived by her daughter, Judy; a son, Richard (and wife Sharon) of Eugene, Or egon; three granddaughters (and their husbands); six great-grandchildren and two sisters-in-law, Esther Jacobson and Ruth Jacobson of Bellingham, Washington. She also had many beloved nieces and nephews and friends considered her like a favorite aunt or a second mother.

Memorials may be sent to Bozeman Deaconess Hospice, 931 Highland Blvd, Bozeman, MT, 59715; or Springhill Presbyterian Church, 9855 Walker Road, Belgrade, MT, 59714.

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