VINCE JACOBS
McMinnville N-R/News-Register 1/19/2018
=Vincil (Vince)
Dale Jacobs=
1936-2018
Vincil (Vince)
Dale Jacobs passed away January 8, 2018, at Willamette Valley Medical Center in
McMinnville, Oregon.
He died from
complications of pneumonia.
Vince was born
May 26, 1936, to Hugh and Irma Jacobs in Corvallis, Oregon. Vince graduated in
1954 from Crook County High School in Prineville, Oregon.
He married his
high school sweetheart, Norma Jean Nalley, on January 22, 1955, in Madras,
Oregon.
He worked in
the lumber industry in Prineville until 1960, and then he and Norma moved their
family to Eugene, Oregon, where he attended the University of Oregon. He
received his B.A. and M.A. in history at the university and moved to Seattle,
Washington, where he received his Ph.D. in European history.
In 1967, he
accepted a teaching position at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, where
he taught for 40 years.
While teaching
at Linfield, Vince traveled to many countries in Europe and Asia with
Linfield’s Study Abroad Program. His last travel class took Norma and him to
Australia and New Zealand. He taught at Regent’s College in London in 1980. He
and Norma flew home one day after the Lockerbie air disaster. All his East
Coast students were aboard the plane that went down the day before. The West
Coast students returned safely with Vince and Norma.
Vince also
taught at Wenzou Teachers College in China in 1990, 1994 and 1999. He enjoyed
his experiences in China and published a book titled “Because I’m Chinese.”
This book captures the memories of China and the friendships he made while
teaching there. He also translated and published a book titled, “Fifty Chinese
Fables."
After
retirement from Linfield, Vince taught three years for the U.S. Navy in the
PACE program aboard aircraft carriers. He was aboard the Abraham Lincoln when
it was called back to the Gulf for the invasion of Iraq. All non-military
personnel where flown back to safety to the States.
Vince served on
many national historical committees during his teaching career. He enjoyed
teaching and enjoyed longtime friendships with his students and Linfield
professors and staff. He also said that it was nice to get paid for doing what
he loved to do.
Vince enjoyed
being with his family and he was always the life of the party at family
gatherings. He also enjoyed hunting and fishing, and his favorite activity was
drifting down the Deschutes River with family and friends. He talked constantly
about getting well enough to go fishing again.
Vince was
preceded in death by his parents, Hugh and Irma Jacobs; and his brother, K.
Paul Jacobs. He is survived by his wife, Norma; his daughter, Vicki (Jacobs)
Rodriguez; son, Martin (Marty) Jacobs; granddaughter, Lacrissa (Jacobs) Lopez;
grandson, Aaron Rodriguez; and five great-granddaughters, Thalia, Zaida and
Jozlynn Lopez and Eva and Emry Rodriguez.
Vince is also
survived by his sisters, Jean Corbitt, Gloria Atteberry, Betty Carey and Faith
Lawrence.
Vince will be
greatly missed by all those who knew and loved him.
A celebration
of life will be announced at a later date. Condolences can be sent to
vjnj@frontier.com
In lieu of
flowers, the family requests donations in Vince’s memory could be made to the
Linfield College Library.
