Marilyn M. Jacobsen

Private Family Services will be held.
The public is invited to join the family for Graveside Services 12:00 P.M. Saturday, June 13 at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Manilla with social distancing being observed.
Marilyn Mae Lakers Jacobsen, 87, died peacefully on May 13, 2020, at Odebolt Specialty Care in Odebolt, Iowa. She was a Manilla, Iowa resident for most of her life.
Marilyn was born in Fiscus, Iowa on September 22, 1932 to Edward and Hilda Martens Lakers. The family moved to a farm west of Manilla, where she spent most of her childhood. She attended University of Northern Iowa. She met Dale Kirk Jacobsen when she was a young school teacher in Harlan. They married in 1954, and had five children. They made their home in Ontario, California, where Dale died in 1962. A year later Marilyn moved her family back to Manilla.
She was a Cub Scout den mother for her sons, was a talented seamstress, and sewed for her daughters until she returned to teaching in 1969. She taught at Catholic schools in Defiance and Vail, Ia. As her children grew, she encouraged them to be active. As a result, she attended countless school functions. Marilyn was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Manilla, an avid reader, and also crocheted in her spare time, providing countless afghans for sick children under Project Linus. She was a long-time member of the Manilla Library Board, and reading, poetry, church, and travel clubs. With the help of her friend Joan Bauer, Marilyn helped Manilla to establish their Meals on Wheels program. She was a winner of the Woman of Distinction Award. She wrote community news for years for The Manilla Times, and traveled after retiring to visit family in other states, and abroad to visit her sister in The Netherlands.
Marilyn was a woman of independence. However, in the years following retirement, dementia crept in and stole her treasured memories. Yet, she kept her sense of humor for the majority of those years, which helped her and her loved ones to endure.
In addition to her husband, Marilyn was also preceded in death by her parents, daughters Anne and Kay Jacobsen, and brothers Jack Lakers and Edward (Nora) Lakers, her sister, Katherine (Jack) Milligan, and brother-in-law Milan Stoen. She is survived by sons Dan (Connie) Jacobsen of Lake View, Dave (Lisa) Jacobsen of Odebolt, and daughter Lynne Hutcheson of Bowling Green, Kentucky. She also leaves six grandchildren, Ben (Christine) Jacobsen, Nate Jacobsen, Sarah (Tom) Young, Erin Baughman, Nick Hutcheson (Britney Heinbaugh), and Brian (Kristi) Hutcheson, as well as three step-grandchildren, Jill (Mark) Kenkel, Jeremy (Carrie) Schneider and Josh (Nicole) Schneider, ten great-grandchildren, and nine step-great-grandchildren. Also surviving are sisters Linda Stoen of Fargo, ND and Janice Lakers (Mike Stoline) of Kalamazoo, MI, and sister-in-law Jan Lakers of Nebraska, and several nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to Manilla Fire and Rescue, PO Box 327, Manilla, IA 51454.