In Memory of Neil Jacobson

May 22, 2023
We are very sad to report that our longtime friend and colleague, Neil Jacobson, died on May 10, 2023, at his home in Oakland, California. Neil was a committed disability rights advocate and a supreme optimist. When someone told him that something was too complex, expensive, or impractical, he unfailingly said, “Why?” He insisted that it was possible to achieve any goal by simply persevering and believing in the righteousness of its purpose. He ended every email and conversation by saying, “Go, go, go!” That drive, tenacity, and, yes, stubbornness enabled Neil to convince his wife and life partner, Denise, to marry him and to persuade the social service bureaucracy that they should adopt their son, David. Neil himself acknowledged that his life was filled with joy and happiness. During Neil’s memorial service, family members recalled him saying, “I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”, May 22, 2023
We are very sad to report that our longtime friend and colleague, Neil Jacobson, died on May 10, 2023, at his home in Oakland, California. Neil was a committed disability rights advocate and a supreme optimist. When someone told him that something was too complex, expensive, or impractical, he unfailingly said, “Why?” He insisted that it was possible to achieve any goal by simply persevering and believing in the righteousness of its purpose. He ended every email and conversation by saying, “Go, go, go!” That drive, tenacity, and, yes, stubbornness enabled Neil to convince his wife and life partner, Denise, to marry him and to persuade the social service bureaucracy that they should adopt their son, David. Neil himself acknowledged that his life was filled with joy and happiness. During Neil’s memorial service, family members recalled him saying, “I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”,