Jacob Ole Jacobsen, 92, Father of Former Hostage, Dies in Duarte

DUARTE, Calif. — A private funeral service is planned today in Pasadena for Jacob Ole Jacobsen, who died of natural causes at age 92. He was the father of former Beirut hostage David Jacobsen,

“What a joyous man he was. How lucky I was to have been reunited with him,” David Jacobsen said Tuesday.

Last November, the elder Jacobsen joined other family members in welcoming his son home after 17 months of captivity at the hands of Lebanese terrorists.

The Denmark-born Jacobsen died in his sleep on March 7 of natural causes at a home for the elderly in this San Gabriel Valley community, his son said.

“He was physically and mentally alert until the very end,” said the younger Jacobsen, who now lives in Huntington Beach. “He was one of the nicest, sweetest human beings that has ever lived on this earth.”