Joan K Jacobs

Joan Jacobs, one half of a powerhouse philanthropic couple whose gifts have shaped the cultural, scientific and educational landscapes of San Diego, died late Monday May 6 2024 at the hospital that bore her name. She was 91. Joan Jacobs and her husband of 70 years, Irwin, migrated west after Irwin left a teaching position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to help grow the then-fledgling UC San Diego. Irwin Jacobs went on to co-found the telecommunications giant Qualcomm. In 2010, Joan and Irwin Jacobs were among the original 40 signers of the “Giving Pledge,” a campaign organized by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates. Jacobs was born Joan Klein on Jan. 17, 1933, in New York City, She enrolled in Cornell University, where she earned a bachelor of science degree in 1954 from the College of Human Ecology. Cornell is also where she met her future husband, Irwin Jacobs, whom she married the same year she was awarded her college degree. Trained as a dietitian, Jacobs worked for the Groton Central School District in upstate New York and later took a position at Boston Lying-in Hospital, now known as Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She and her husband moved to San Diego in 1966. Some 15 years later, he co-founded Qualcomm, which has become one of the leading technology providers in the world. Survivors include Irwin; four sons, Gary, Hal, Paul and Jeff Jacobs; as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.