June 13, 2006
IN MEMORIAM: Former Library Assistant Gloria Jacobson
For those of you who were around the law school campus in the early 1990s, you may remember the always perfectly groomed, platinum-haired library assistant with the delightful English accent at the circulation desk who was always there to steer library patrons in the right direction.
That familiar library face was Gloria Alton Jacobson. Thomas Jefferson School of Law regrets to announce that Gloria died at St. John's Medical Center in Oxnard, California, on May 1, 2006, after battling multiple myeloma cancer. She was 72 years young.
Born in London, she was evacuated to the countryside of England with other British children during World War II when the Germans bombed London. Gloria became an established comedienne, impressionist and stage performer, performing in England, Europe and British provinces around the world. She was known as the girl with 100 voices. She had a popular radio show on the British Broadcasting Network and was known as "Little Miss Echo" dubbed for her ability to do impressions of famous people.
Gloria cut back her professional career to be a fulltime wife and mother. While she continued to perform for years on stage in the recording studio she also had a career as a librarian assistant at the Hammond, Indiana Public Library, and after moving to San Diego, she also worked in the library here at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law from 1984 to 1994.
Survivors include her husband of 49 years, Alvin Jacobson (a retired Hammond, Indiana Police Lieutenant and in California, a retired La Mesa PD Crime Prevention Specialist), two sons, Martin Jacobson of Port St. Lucie, Florida, and Stephen Jacobson of Encinitas, California, and five grandchildren. The family will conduct private services. Donations in her memory can be made to the American Cancer Society Multiple Myeloma Association.