Steven A. Jacobson

As a participant in the 2,996 Tribute Project, I dedicate this post to Steven A. Jacobson, one of the 2,996 men, women and children that lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

Steven A. Jacobson

May 25, 1948~September 11, 2001

Steven A Jacobson was born on May 25, 1948 and died in tower 1 of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Deborah, and his daughters Rachel and Miriam. He is also survived by his sister Janice Friedlander of New City, N.Y and mother, Selma Jacobson of Washington Heights. Jacobson used to call his mother daily and would routinely take her and his daughters to lunch and dinner. Steven's dear friend and co-worker, Victor Arnone, who has talked to her since the attacks, said, "She misses him terribly." His voice breaking, Arnone said, "Excuse me. It's just that I miss him so much, too."

Although I did not know Steven personally, my research has told me that he was a beloved husband, father, son, brother and friend. One of his great passions, aside from his family and faith, was amateur radio and he maintained an open repeater for New York ham radio operators for many years.

Mr. Jacobson was well known for his dry sense of humor. It was a routine for him to invite Jewish friends to lunch at his Manhattan home on Yom Kippur, when, of course, they were fasting. He loved to prowl through ham radio flea markets. Unfailingly, he would ask a vendor, "Do you have a used logbook and a big eraser?" He had a habit of not using turn signals when he drove. When questioned, he would respond, "It's nobody's business which way I'm turning."

The lead transmitter engineer for WPIX-TV in New York, Steve was a hero many times. He kept television stations running during both weather and terror emergencies. During the 1993 bombing of WTC, he stayed on the job until midnight, enduring heavy smoke conditions until the fire was put out, to assure that the transmitter was operating properly when power was restored. When the bomb exploded, Victor Arnone, a WPIX maintenance engineer and a close friend, had gone to the concourse to get lunch for him. He called Mr. Jacobson and yelled: "Steve! Explosion! Smoke! People are running out!" Mr. Jacobson said, "Does this mean I don't get my egg roll?"

In 1996, in the middle of a blizzard that put down 26 inches of snow, he walked 2 miles from home to fix a problem that could have knocked the transmitter off. Steven had a deep fidelity to that transmitter. He cared for it like a sick baby the occasional times when it would "dump" and take the station off the air. Once he used his shoelaces to get it going.

Steven A. Jacobson lost his life on September 11, 2001. He was to work from 8 til 4, but his day ended very quickly when a plane crashed into the building, just beneath the upper floors that housed the transmitters, which Steve Jacobson maintained until the very end.

Steven may be gone, but he has not been forgotten.


To read his Legacy guest book, please click here.


Steven's quilt squares from "United in Memory":