Man who died at U.S. Open passed away three days after his wife

Jay Busbee
· Senior writer

Chick Jacobs lived an admirable life, a grandfather and a soldier, a World War II and Korean War veteran, recipient of the Silver Star and the Purple Heart, engineer involved with the moon landing, lifelong golfer. Chick’s life came to an end last week at the U.S. Open, only three days after his wife of 68 years passed away.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has detailed Jacobs’ life in the days after his death on the course at Erin Hills, and it’s a remarkable story in the way that all lives are.

Lucille Jacobs, 88, passed away on Tuesday from complications from a broken hip. Chick, 94, who met her decades ago at the University of Wisconsin while on the G.I. Bill after World War II, decided to push through his grief by visiting the Open. Golf was a refuge for him; it had been for years. Chick had served as a course marshal for years at the Greater Milwaukee Open. He putted and chipped in his basement. He was a single-digit handicapper, and he and Lucille played in couples tournaments around the country.

So on Friday, when he went to the U.S. Open at Erin Hills with his son, Chick Jacobs was in his element. He’d wanted to see this tournament in his beloved Wisconsin ever since it was awarded in 2010, and on Friday, he spent time watching the leaders and the best players in the world go by. He watched Steve Stricker save par with a sand save. And then, around 1:20 local time, he became unresponsive. Medical personnel arrived on the scene, but Jacobs had a Do Not Resuscitate order. He passed away there at Erin Hills.

“He got to see his favorite golfer (Stricker) make that last putt,” his son Bill Jacobs told the Journal-Sentinel. “Jesus came down and said, ‘Hey, Marshall, I’m going to bring you up and reunite you with your wife. Because obviously, you didn’t want to spend any more time here.'”

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.