Clifford T. Jacobs was born in Minden, Nebraska on April 6, 1936 to John and Adelia Jacobs on the family farm. He went to be with his Lord on September 16, 2015 in Lincoln, Nebraska. He grew up in Minden and played basketball and ran track. He was a part of the state champion basketball team in the '50s and is now a part of the Nebraska High School Basketball Hall of Fame. He went to college at Kearney State College where he ran track, specializing in the 880 and accomplishing a personal best time of 1:56. He graduated with a bachelors in education with a coaching endorsement. He went on to finish his master in education at Kearney State also. He later received another masters from Chadron State College in guidance counseling. He met Sharon K. Patterson while at Kearney. They were married on August 14th, 1958 in Gothenburg, Nebraska. To this union, four children were born, Doug, David, Dean, and Julie. He taught at various schools throughout his teaching career; Arapahoe, Curtis, Maywood, Burwell, Valentine, Grand Island Northwest, and finished his career in Valentine, Nebraska. In those years he coached many kids in many different sports and took quite a few teams to state in basketball and coached many track athletes who qualified for state over the years. In his counseling career he was very pro-active in making sure that students received scholarships to continue their education. He was a life-long member of the United Methodist Church and stayed very active in his church by attending annual conferences and serving on numerous different boards and committees throughout the years. Cliff was an avid ice fishermen, enjoyed golfing, and watching Cornhusker football. He enjoyed these activities with many friends and family members. Cliff's family was very important to him and he thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Cliff was preceded in death by his parents, his sister-in-law, and brother-in-law. He is survived by his wife, Sharon of Valentine; his children, Doug (Sandy) Jacobs of Valentine, David (Kathy) Jacobs of North Platte, Dean (Christy) Jacobs of Valentine, and Julie (Mark) Hoefs of Valentine; his brother, Kenneth Jacobs of Brewer, ME and sister-in-law Marian Patterson of Valentine; his grandchildren, Keira (Tommy) Craig of Stillwater, OK, Kaylee (Ryan) Grimshaw of Colorado Springs, CO, Heather (Matt) Thoma of Lawton, IA, Amber (Dylan) Goodell of Littlerock, AR, Megan Hoefs of Valentine, Abbey Jacobs of Sioux Falls, SD, and Aleah Jacobs of Valentine; his great-grandchildren, Jackson & Madison Craig, Rylee & Amelia Grimshaw and Baby Thoma; and numerous nieces and nephews. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.
Memorial service was held on Saturday, September 19 at 10:00 AM at the United Methodist Church in Valentine. Sandoz Chapel of the Pines in Valentine was in charge of service arrangements.