The death of Joan Jacobs on Monday at the age of 91 marked the death of Joan Jacobs, among the many San Diego residents who benefited from the amazingly generous philanthropy of her and her husband, Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs. It caused a huge response in the community. The hundreds of millions of dollars they donated certainly shaped the city's “cultural, scientific, and educational landscape,” as a thoughtful and detailed obituary in the San Diego Union-Tribune noted. .
The Jacobses' generosity supported the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, UCSD, Central Library, La Jolla Playhouse, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, and the Salk Institute. But the couple also recognized the value of institutions that don't necessarily have a cultural or educational reputation.
In 2005, when a financial scandal threatened the future of the San Diego Food Bank, the Jacobs and business leader Stephen Cushman stepped forward to support the charity and its invaluable work helping impoverished local residents. Ta. The San Diego Food Bank, now the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, provides food monthly at more than 200 distribution locations throughout the county and also provides food to individuals and families in need. It is also a major supplier to the more than 500 nonprofit organizations it distributes to.
“Joan and Irwin both shared a sense of social responsibility that I had never seen before,” said UCSD President Pradeep Khosla. “That was very selfish.”
The Jacobs family moved to San Diego from the East Coast in 1966 because of their connection to UCSD. At that time, Irwin Jacobs accepted an offer to become a founding member of the then-young university's engineering faculty. As the family's wealth grew after Qualcomm was founded in his 1985 and emerged as a global telecommunications giant, the Jacobs began giving back.
In a 2017 interview with UT, Joan Jacobs said the roots of the couple's philanthropic work lie in their childhood. Joan grew up in New York City and Irwin grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts. “Our family was philanthropists, but on a whole different level,” she said. “We both came from very modest families. We're very lucky to be able to do what we do now.”
All of the more than 3 million people who call San Diego County home will appreciate this. The editorial board joins the many others in praying for the members of the Jacobs family on the passing of their patriarch.
