Richard J. Jacobsen, former president of Jacobsen Pilot
Service at the Port of Long Beach, died Friday, August 22, at his home in the
Los Angeles area. He was 82.
“We’re saddened to learn of the passing of Richard Jacobsen,
this is a man who was a leader in the industry and most importantly, he is part
of the Port of Long Beach family. He will be missed,” Long Beach Board of
Harbor Commissioners President Doug Drummond said.
Richard “Dick” Jacobsen was born in San Pedro on Nov. 26,
1931. His parents were Capt. Jacob Andrew Jacobsen and Elise Gulbransen
Jacobsen, both from Norway.
Jacobsen graduated from the California Maritime Academy in
1952 and then served in the US Navy where he reached the rank of lieutenant. He
then he gained experience in merchant shipping, before he came to work with his
father, Jacob Jacobsen, at the family business in the mid-1950s.
Jacobsen Pilot Service provides all port pilots for ships
that call at the Port of Long Beach. Port pilots meet incoming ships outside
the breakwater, and using their in-depth knowledge of the local harbor and
wharves, guide the ships into berth and back out to sea.
Dick Jacobsen worked as a port pilot before he became
president of the company in 1960, leading the company into the containerization
era. Under his leadership, JPS pioneered the use of new safety-enhancing
technologies that eventually became standard in the industry.
Jacobsen is survived by his wife of 57 years, Sandra; two
daughters, Katherine Anderson and Linda Fester; and a son, Thomas Jacobsen, who
is the pilot service’s current president. Dick Jacobsen also leaves behind seven
grandchildren and a sister, Andrea Ulin.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the
International Seafarers Center of Los Angeles/Long Beach, 120 S. Pico Ave, Long
Beach 90802. And also the Assistance League of San Pedro-South Bay, 1441 W. 8th
St., San Pedro 90732.
