- Mary Alice Jacobsen 1926 - May 1, 2013
Mary was born in 1926. She grew up on a small farm in Tvedestrand, Norway, a rural town located north of Arendal and south of Oslo in a fjord on the majestic east coast. Norway was occupied by Germany when she was young, so she had many tales of surviving the war and hiding the food on their farm from the Nazis. When she was 19 she immigrated to the United States with her sister Anne and mother Irene to join her father, Andrew Tellefsen, who was a carpenter in Brooklyn, N.Y.
At a dance in the Norwegian Engineer's Hall she met her future husband Adolf, a naval officer. They were married in the Norwegian Seaman's Church on May 23, 1948 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Mary was active in numerous navy wives clubs at duty stations in: Newport, R.I.; New York City; Washington, D.C.; Norfolk, Va.; Key West, Fla.; Omaha, Ne.; Long Beach, Calif.; and San Diego, Calif. She helped the clubs raise money for the Navy Relief Fund. She was also a caring homemaker for her husband and two children, Irene Lynn and Beverly Ann. When Adolf was away on long Shipboard tours, she managed the household, raised her children, and learned how to drive at the age of 22. Later, Mary helped raise her grandchildren, taking them to and from school and watching them in the afternoons. When her father became ill, she travelled across the country to take care for him for five months until he passed away.
Upon retiring from the naval service, the family settled down in Bonita, Calif. Mary became active in the Norwegian American community in San Diego, including the Sons of Norway Valhall Lodge and the House of Norway in Balboa Park. There she would share her love of Norway by preparing and serving Norwegian food and desserts at events, often in her bunad, a traditional Norwegian folk costume. The Norwegian flag flown every 17th of May in Balboa Park was purchased by Mary in Norway. She had to search for the largest flag they made because the flag pole in the park is so tall.
During their retirement Mary and her husband returned every summer to her family farm in Norway, named Feltstykket. They had originally planned to travel the world, but after visiting in 1974 and recognizing its beauty, they decided instead to spend their summers hard at work transforming it into an enchanting vacation home for their family. They spent every summer for the next 38 years there, sightseeing and visiting her husband's relatives in Bodø and Skudeneshavn, travelling by car, train, ship and air. Every summer she would have a reunion for her family at Feltstykket. At first she made all of the cakes, waffles and sandwiches for her family by hand, but as the reunions grew and grew, she had the local hotel cater the event. At its largest she had 68 guests and 16 cars attending, and everyone stayed until the mosquitos drove them home.
Feltstykket was also a starting point for many of her travelling friends from the Norwegian American community in San Diego, where she introduced them to Norwegian culture and food with her hospitality. She also brought her eldest grandson Richard with her every summer and passed on her love for Feltstykket onto him.
Mary was fluent in both Norwegian and English allowing her to make all of her guests feel welcome and comfortable. Before immigrating to the U.S., Mary worked in a beauty salon. She loved to have her hair done weekly and went to the same hairdresser in Chula Vista for 30 years. When she was in Norway, she went to the same salon she had worked at many years before. Her other hobbies included knitting, crocheting and embroidery. At least 20 of her family members have afghans made by her and knitted Norwegian sweaters for her children, grandchildren and others. She embroidered many tablecloths which were used for family holiday dinners. She was also an avid reader, and when she lost her eyesight to temporal arteritis and macular degeneration, she would listen to histories and biographies on audiobooks every day. She also loved the Sunday church service on television called "Hour of Power."
In the fall of 2011, during a medical examination, Mary was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Although she had chemotherapy, a hysterectomy, and hormone treatment, the cancer endured and she away peacefully at home on May 1, 2013. She was cremated and her ashes reside at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma, Calif., overlooking the San Diego Bay.
Mary is survived by her husband of 65 years Captain Adolf Jacobsen, her daughters Irene and Beverly, her grandchildren, Richard, Justin, and Alexandra, and her greatgrandchildren, Berg and Kaja.
She was strong, independent and hardworking, graceful, classy and beautiful; a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and aunt. She always remembered everyone's birthday, anniversary or special occasion. Her bright smile will always be remembered in the hearts of her friends and family.
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1926 - 2013 (86 år)
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