Randy Lee Jacobson
November 12, 1957 - August 26, 2012
Obituary
Randy Lee Jacobson was born in Seattle, WA on November 12, 1958 to Eleanor and Virnel Jacobson. He was the fourth of five very active and mischievous boys. Throughout his childhood he enjoyed camping, wrestling with his brothers, and playing a multitude of sports. His greatest love was football and Friday nights at Tyee High School it was not uncommon to hear his name chanted from the stands as he ran through linebackers and scored touchdowns. In High School he met his first love, Tanya Palmer and they were married on September 26, 1976 and soon after they had their first child Tisa. Due to the early arrival of their daughter, Randy turned down multiple football scholarships and enrolled as a student at the University of Washington while working full time through the Highline School District. He continued to embrace his passion for football and joined the Burien Fliers, a semi-pro football team. In 1981 his son Randy was born and their family was complete. He took a job in the little town of North Bend at a summer camp for kids called Camp Waskowitz, where he was caretaker of the 490 acres. It was also during this time Randy went back to Green River CC and finished his degree as an Electronic Technician. In 1983 the family became first time home owners in Federal Way, WA. Randy took up the game of soccer where he played on a team with his brothers and sister-in-law. They bought a motor home and spent many weekends camping with family and friends at Lake Cushman or traveling to soccer tournaments. In the fall of 1992 Tanya lost her life after a hard fought battle with Leukemia. It was a trying time for the Randy, raising two kids on his own was a difficult task that challenged him both mentally and physically. Thankfully, by a simple twist of fate and the friendship of their son’s, Linda Weingart was brought into his life. Randy was immediately blown away by her wit, her charm, and how gorgeous she was. He jokingly told his brothers that she was going to fall for him, and lucky for him, she did. The two of them confided in each other and formed a deep friendship that turned into a passionate love for one another. He proposed, she graciously accepted, and they were married on August 9, 1997 in Montana among family and friends. As the family grew, they moved into a larger home in Federal Way and became owners of a small mailing business. The kids grew older, began to form families of their own and Randy was never happier. He had a penchant for cooking and thoroughly enjoyed having dinner ready for his wife when she came home from work. Randy and Linda enjoyed spending their free time traveling in their motor home to various state parks, as well as Linda’s family in Montana. Randy also loved spending time on the golf course with his son Randy Lee, and brothers Darwin, Rod, Joey, and Mickey. In 2010 Randy and Linda bought the house of their dreams in Lake Tapps, WA where they lived until his death.
Randy was a very kind and outgoing person. He had a remarkable ability to talk to anyone and loved to make people laugh. He loved his family with all his heart and always carried a smile when he was able to spend time with them. To honor the memory of Randy and the kindness that he gave you, please pass on a random act of kindness to someone else in need.
In Lieu of flowers or gifts please give to a charity close to your heart in honor of Randy.
Thank you for letting me marry your daughter and including me into your beautiful family. You never kept me at arms length and for that I am eternally grateful. In fact, one of my fondest memories is golfing with you and Randy Lee in the snow! Gone too soon, but never EVER forgotten. We love you…
Randy,
You were my off-and-on coworker and my friend for 25 years. You always said that I was like a kid sister to you and I felt as if you were my brother–we sure bickered like siblings!. We essentially grew up together at Boeing. You attended my wedding in 1988, and I attended Tanya’s funeral in 1992–never, ever believing that 20 years later, I would be attending your funeral.
Randy, you had a gift with people, an innate ability to bring comraderie into every work environment that I shared with you; you made work fun. I, like everyone who knew you, am stunned and heartbroken by your passing.
Dear friend: I will forever miss your chiding, humor, laughter, and friendship. Rest in peace, Randy. I will miss you. Oh, and keep the wisecracks to a minimum–you are in a holy place now. 🙂
R.I.P. my old friend… We met many times on the football field as youngsters. You were one of the best!
Dear Randy,
How your family is going to miss you – your beautiful smile and the twinkle in your eye. I’ve known you since you were a baby and my heart aches for you.
To the family – I am so sorry for your loss. I will remember Randy for his cute little smile – Clair and I always felt a part of your family and all of you as ours. I only hope the love of your friends can sustain you all through this tragedy. He will be in good company, Ella, Buns, Clair and Ken. I love you all.
You will be missed rest in peace!!!
Randy, we all enjoyed the time we spent with you so much, your contagious smile and laughter, your quick wit! Your family loved you very much and you will live in our hearts forever.
I have a lot of good memories of Randy, but one that stands out was his acceptance of me when I first arrived at Chinook Jr. High as an eighth grader. He picked me to be on his PE Intermural teams and never made judgements about me and where I came from previously.
I also always respected him for his decision to marry Tanya when it was discovered she was expecting. It showed that he had a sense of responsibility and he took action when it was needed.
I know that he is happy to see Tanya again and I’m sure there was a great reuniion when he got to the other side.
I know that Randy is in a better place and that we will all see him again
Take care, Superjuice, and thanks for being not only my friend but a friend to everyone you met.
Marty Kurtz
Enoch, Utah
I miss you Randy. Thanks for all the great golf games and your friendship. You’ll always be in my prayers.
Rest in Peace Randy. It was always a joy working with you and experiencing your witty humor! You will be sorely missed.
Randy I will sure miss seeing you around work and on the golf course. You were always there to help me and anyone else. You were a very valuable asset to have on any team. I never heard you say sorry I can’t help you. You always found a way to help and you did it with a smile on your face. I worked and enjoyed your friendship for more than 20 years here at Boeing. You will be missed. Take care my friend.
My memories of Randy go back to elementary school at McMicken Heights. I can easily picture that mischievous grin and sparkly eyes. I am praying for your family and all the people who are mourning your loss. You will be greatly missed.
Randy had a special ability to talk with anyone, tell stories, make them laugh. I worked on and off with him through the years, and he was always fun to be around. I hadn’t seen him for a while but then a few months ago I was getting an oil change for the car and walked into the dealership’s waiting room to find Randy sitting there. Instantly we were catching up and having a great conversation. I had a smile the rest of the day. Randy, you will be missed by more people than you probably could have imagined.
We have many wonderful memories of Randy mostly from the years that Terry played soccer with him and the brothers. He will be missed by so many. We are so sorry for your loss.
I met Randy for the first time at camp Waskowitz in the 6th grade. My brother Jeff was good friends with his brother Joe. We sat at the same table for meals and when we realized our connection, we became friends. God’s taking care of him now, so rest in peace Randy. You will be missed.
Wow Randy, never thought I would be signing the guestbook for your obituary. Randy came into our live 17 years ago, first as the dad to my nephews best friend, then as my sister Linda’s boyfriend, and finally as her husband and my brother-in-law. That was one of the best days of my sisters life. I’ve never seen her so happy. I Thank You for that. I’ll never forget your favorite joke, so this horse walks into this bar and the bartender says,”why the long face”. Of course I laughed my butt off. Or the time we went to the zoo and we come around the corner only to find you and your brother joey out front. Joey was playing the harmonica and you were dancing with a hat laid out as if you were doing it for money. We just walked on by. Randy may the angels always be by your side so your not “ASCARED’ cause we know you are “SOPHISTICATED”. Sure hope heaven has enough dew rags. May you rest in Peace my dear friend and brother-in-law. You will be MISSED SOOOOOOOO MUCH. I LOVE YOU ALWAYS!!!!!!!
Thank you for all of the fond memories, rest in peace my friend.
I am sadden by Randy’s passing. All too young too! Randy, I will never forget those football nights at the stadium. Being in the band and marching at 1/2 time. I just loved cheering him on touchdown after touchdown!
Also I had the privilege of being a counselor at Camp Waskowitz. IOne place that changed then hearts of many. We had so much fun and working with the children who were in our cabins was a life changing experience.
I understand the challenges Randy must have gone through as I was widowed myself and left to finish raising my two children 13 and 14. It takes a strong person to take on that roll and Randy was strong. He will be missed by all and I am glad he was able to leave his foot print on my heart!
I remember Randy even as far back as Kindergarten. We were in the building across the street from McMicken Heights Elementary School. After that, the building became the local library for a while and is now the SeaTac Community Center.,
What I remember most about Randy was his laugh and how he could make everyone around him laugh too. 🙂
With fond memories of those childhood years, Randy you will be missed. Sending love and prayers to the family and friends who will miss him.
A photo from yesteryear – 1964 Ms Mjelde’s Kindergarten Class (Randy’s in the 2nd row – far left)
Randy – you touched the lives of many and you will not be forgotten. We all regret your pain led to this and we hope to see you again one day.
God Speed my friend.
Love you brotha….your HUGE smile lives on with all who know you…rest in peace…see you on the other side…
What a guy…..and the mischievious part is an understatement!
I grew up with the Jacobsen crew and had the absolute pleasure of being a teammate of Randy’s. There has never been a better teammate than Jake. He was an inspiration to all by his performance; he let his play do the talking.
He was the toughest most unselfish person I ever had the chance to compete with on the football field.
His competitive spirit was matched in how friendly he was with everyone. He made everyone comfortable!
Our love and prayers to his family.
Linda,
I’m so sorry for your loss. I read his life story just now. I never met him but I’m glad you did and had him in your life.
cindy
I have a lot of great memories from High School. Randy was a terrific guy. So sorry for your loss. Praying for you all.
My condolences to the entire Jacobson family, and to the extended Tyee family. We have lost a good one, folks.
I am a classmate of Randy’s younger brother, Mickey. I met Randy when I was still at Chinook Jr. High. Several of us had to walk down to Tyee to take Spanish in our 9th grade year, as they no longer offered it at Chinook. I can tell you, we were a bit intimidated to walk across that campus (to the farthest building, too, I might add!) on that first day. I will never forget that class, and especially one Randy Jacobson. Randy saw how nervous we were to be on a strange campus, with much older classmates, and he immediately took us all under his wing. He made us feel at home, he didn’t talk down to us, or snub us, or ignore us. He treated us like, well, classmates, and even friends. He turned a class that could’ve been very awkward and uncomfortable into one of my favorite classes, EVER. We laughed alot in that classroom. I looked forward to seeing Randy’s huge smile when us “Chinookers” walked into the classroom.
By the time I arrived at Tyee, Randy had graduated. I’m not sure I ever saw him again after that Spanish Class. But 35 years later, I still remember it like it was yesterday, and with a HUGE smile on my face. LIke I said, we’ve lost one of the good ones.
Randy became part of our lives when he married our daughter Tanya. What seemed like a tough time, ended up being a wonderful blessing. We got a new son in law, a beautiful granddaughter Tisa, and a whole bunch of shirt tail relatives, the Jacobson’s who accepted us as family. A few years later we were blessed with a grandson, Randy Lee. Randy studied and worked hard and got a good job at the Boeing Company. Randy, Tanya, Tisa, Randy Lee and Puppy chow were living the American Dream in their new home in Federal Way and we were the happiest and proudest grandparents in Seattle.
But sadness was soon to come when Tanya was diagnosed with leukemia. After a tough fight including a bone marrow transplant Tanya died. Randy was there for her and for us and we will always love him for his love of Tanya. Those were tough days, especially for Randy and we were delighted when he found Linda and they were married. Raising two young children as a single parent has to be tough duty.
Randy leaves a happy and wonderful legacy of two grown grandchildren and four great grandchildren that we are extremely proud of.. All our grandkids are the delight of our lives and give meaning to what life is all about.
Words can never express how much we miss you Randy. In all the years that you have been part of our lives, there has never had a cross word between us. You were so special. We miss you so much.
I’m sad to be signing this guestbook, but I want Randy’s family and friends to know how much he’ll be missed around this Boeing campus. He always had a smile on his face and would say Hello anytime I’d run in to him at the 9-53 building. He was a customer of mine years ago and although I haven’t worked with him in a long time, he was just one of those people you were happy to know. I can’t believe I won’t be seeing him in the halls anymore, but I have faith that one day I’ll see him again. Peace and strength to all of you.
RIP, Randy.
To the Jacobson family, Boeing family and his wife Linda, Randy was a great father, athlete, and friend. You will be very much missed.
My heartfelt condolences to the entire Jacobson family.
Thinking of you, Randy~
May you always walk in Sunshine
and God’s Love around you flow;
For the happiness you gave us
no one will ever know.
It broke our hearts to lose you
but you did not go alone:
A part of us went with you
the day God called you home.
A million times we’ve missed you
a million times we’ve cried.
If LOVE could have saved you,
You never would have died.
My sincerest condolences to the entire Jacobson Family. Being out of state, I just recently learned of Randy’s passing. I am deeply saddened. I wrestled with Randy and played football with him. It is hard to try and honor him appropriately. He was without a doubt the greatest football player that I ever played with and I believe if he was 6 foot, he would have played in the NFL. He was simply the best. As great as his athletic talents were, they were always overshadowed by his character. I can only say that he never thought he was more important than anyone else and had that charm that made you feel like you were more important than he was. If there were more “Randy Jacobson’s”, the world would be a better place. I am deeply saddened that you are gone Randy, and I pray that you have found peace.
I worked with Randy at his first technician job. – before he went to Boeing. When I called him after getting his resume, he confirmed that he was the same Randy that set all the records at Tyee. The guy that showed up at the interview was not as big as I envisioned. I learned right away that he was so much bigger than his physical stature! I’m sorry that I lost track of him when he moved on to Boeing. He and Tanya were wonderful.