Sunday, September 10, 2006

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":

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have to say I like Steven's sense of humor. I had to laugh a few times at the jokes & comments he made. He indeed sounds like he was a wonderful person.

You did a great job honoring his life!

dmmgmfm said...

Thank you so much Pixie.

Anonymous said...

Such a great tribute. It's so sad to have all these people die so tragically. Thank you for sharing and for stopping by my way.

Cathy said...

What a remarkable man. I'm so pleased to know of him through your lovely tribute.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed learning about Steven. What an amazing project this has been. I don't think I am ever going to stop crying. I was an active duty soldier that day and my husband still is, deployed to Afghanistan, where he never would have been but for this day. Tomorrow is had for us, but it is also a day to celebrate life, my eldest son's birthday.

dmmgmfm said...

I'm with you Kiki, I'm not sure I will ever be the same...and I'm not sure I want to be. I've learned so much during this process. Thanks for stopping by and please wish your son happy birthday for me and know that your family is in my thoughts.

Paige said...

Great tribute.

Unknown said...

That was a great tribute! It's nice to know that even in death, he can, through you, make people laugh. That's a great picture of him, too!

David Edward said...

I am so proud to be part of this project- remembering each one, and praying for their families. God Bless you,for your tribute here.
We will never forget!

Anonymous said...

Very well done! He sounds like a very special person - and what a great sense of humor! I feel like I know him now. I will definitely be thinking of him tomorrow and praying for his family & friends.

Very touching tribute!

Karmyn R said...

Steven sounds like a fun guy I would have liked to have known. Thank you for such a well written tribute! I enjoyed it very much - instead of sadness, I only felt tears of joy at what a good life he had.

Juliness said...

Great tribute! Steven sounds like he'd be a good friend to have.

Anonymous said...

Such a wonderful person.
Thank you for giving a face to a name.
It makes such a difference...
I'm sure I'll see his face before me when they read his name today.

dmmgmfm said...

I am leaving today to go help with a training session. I will be back on Wednesday. I wish I could just stay home and read all of the wonderful tributes that have been written, but I have to go. Please know that although I am not here physically, I am here in spirit. God bless all that have participated in this tribute. I will never forget...

Katherine said...

That was a really beautiful tribute - you really captured who he was. Thanks for stopping by my tribute to Marjorie C. Salamone.

Jen said...

"It's nobody's business which way I'm turning" sounds so much like something my dad would say! I can get a sense of his personality from that, he sounds like a really neat guy.

I Remember Anna Williams Allison

Anonymous said...

WOnderful job with this tribute.
It's good to put the faces with the names of all of the victims.
Thanks for stopping by mine.

PastormacsAnn said...

Thank you for this tribute. May he never be forgotten.