[MD-AtLarge] Sad News

Sat Feb 11 03:32:24 UTC 2023

Friends,

I'm sorry to share, for those of you who don't already know, that Carl
Jacobson passed away on Wednesday, February 8, 2023.  Carl served as the
President of the New York affiliate for over 20 years beginning in 1997.  He
was also a member of the NFB National Board of Directors for many years.  He
leaves behind his beloved spouse, Mindy, his children, several
grandchildren, and many others inside and outside of New York who loved him.

Below please find a part of a Braille Monitor article on Federation Leaders
that described a little about Carl.  While the article does a great job of
summarizing his life (to the point in time that the article was published),
only by knowing and interacting with Carl could you get a true sense of his
kindness, his sense of humor, and his tenacity.  Carl's obituary, which
contains information about services, is at the bottom of this message.

Carl Jacobsen
(Businessman, Community Activist, and Teacher)

Carl Jacobsen was born on December 22, 1946, and raised in Brooklyn, New
York, where his father had immigrated from Norway and his mother from
Scotland. When he was fifteen, he lost his sight over a four-month period
due to Lieber's syndrome. Although it would be some time before he found the
NFB, Carl says he employed Federation philosophy in his approach to his
blindness from the day he learned his diagnosis.

He transferred from Brooklyn Tech to Erasmus Hall High School because that's
where the resource room was located. At Erasmus he met two adults who would
have a positive influence on his life: his resource teacher, Sam Ellis, and
his orientation and mobility instructor, Ed Townes. Carl tells the story of
how this instructor, now a member of Congress, gave him a dry cleaning claim
ticket and some cash and told him to pick up his suit. When Carl asked where
the dry cleaner was located, Townes responded that, since he was such a wise
guy, he could figure it out for himself. While at Erasmus, Carl also met
Sally Rupp, one of the volunteer readers in the resource room, whom he would
later marry. After graduation from high school Carl attended Concordia
College in Moorhead, Minnesota, for two years while Sally attended nursing
school in Brooklyn. They decided the separation was too stressful, however,
so Carl left school to marry Sally.

Soon he and Sally began their family with son Bradley and daughter
Christine, born during their first five years of marriage. Later, in 1991,
they adopted their son Andrew from Korea. While the older children were
growing up, Carl returned to school and finished his bachelor's degree at
Hunter College in New York City, majoring in history, political science, and
comparative religion. He also pursued graduate studies at Union Theological
Seminary for three years but decided not to seek ordination.

Carl attended his first NFB national convention in 1989 and has missed only
one since, the year his wife Sally was critically ill. In the fall of 1989
he was elected second vice president of the New York affiliate. In 1991 he
was elected president of the New York City Chapter, an office he held until
2005. Later that year he was elected first vice president of the state
affiliate and subsequently elected affiliate president in 1997, a position
he continues to hold. Carl also served on the board of directors of the
National Association of Blind Merchants until July of 2006.

Throughout his life Carl has pursued various careers, including factory
management and business enterprise management. He says his favorite work is
teaching. Though he has never taught school, in addition to training
entrants into the Randolph-Sheppard Program, he works with blind children
and teens on cane travel and other blindness skills as well as on attitudes
about blindness. He also gives presentations to parents and educators of
blind children on the truth about blindness the Federation way. Throughout
the 1970s and 80s Carl was instrumental in establishing several programs for
preschool children through local churches.

Carl was elected to the NFB board of directors in 2004. His daughter
Christine presented him with twin grandchildren, Jason and Caitlin. His wife
Sally died in February 2002. Consistent with his and Sally's passion for
education, in her memory Carl endowed an NFB scholarship, awarded between
2002 and 2007. On May 20, 2006, Carl married Dr. Mindy Fliegelman, a former
cantor. Together they continue to work for the independence of blind people
in New York and across the country.

CARL JACOBSEN OBITUARY

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/carl-jacobsen-obituary?
pid=203849586

Carl Johan Jacobsen passed away on February 8, 2023 at the age of 76.
Beloved husband of Mindy (nee Fliegelman).  Loving father of Brad Jacobsen
(Magvis), Christine McCluskey (James), and Andrew Jacobsen.  Proud
grandfather of Jason, Caitlin, and Gunnar.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Carl's memory to: 

 <https://nfb.org/> National Federation Of The Blind
   -   or   -
 <http://www.bethlehembayridge.org/> Bethlehem Lutheran Church

   -   -   -   -   -   

Visitation
Monday (2/13)  3 - 7 PM
Complimentary Valet Parking Available

Prayer Service
Monday (2/13)  6 PM 

Funeral Service
Tuesday (2/14)  10 AM @  <http://www.bethlehembayridge.org/> Bethlehem
Lutheran Church

Cemetery
 <https://allfaithscemetery.org/> All Faiths Cemetery (Middle Village, NY)

FUNERAL HOME

<https://www.legacy.com/funeral-homes/ny/brooklyn/clavin-funeral-home---broo
klyn/fh-22009> Clavin Funeral Home - Brooklyn

7722 4th Avenue

Brooklyn, NY

UPCOMING SERVICE

Funeral Service

Feb. 14, 2023

10:00 a.m.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church Cemetery All Faiths Cemetery

Ronza Othman, President

National Federation of the Blind of Maryland

443-426-4110

Pronouns: she, her, hers

The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland knows that blindness is not
the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back

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