Duane Earl Jacobson

Duane Earl Jacobson, age 84, passed away September 09, 2022, at his home in Melba, Idaho.  Duane was born on April 12, 1938, in Ada, Minnesota to his parents Lewey Jacobson and Lucille Naugle.  He moved with his parents and two older sisters to Nampa, Idaho in 1944, where they joined extended Jacobson and Naugle family members to farm in the Franklin community area. 

Duane attended Nampa High School, graduating in 1956.  He was very active in FFA, holding the office of local chapter President in 1955 and 1956, and Idaho State FFA Vice President in 1956.  In 1955, while a junior in high school, Duane leased 34 acres of ground and raised sugar beets, corn, wheat and 24 head of cattle, earning him the district and Idaho Star Farmer award and in 1956 the National Star Farmer award.  After high school Duane joined Lawrence and Mary Lou Gray in a joint farming venture, during which they expanded to 940 acres of row crop and livestock production by 1961. On October 6, 1961, Duane married Jacquolyn Claude in Caldwell, Idaho.  They continued to farm in the Nampa and Middleton areas, where they had two children, Myron, and Audra. 

Duane joined the Idaho National Guard in 1958.  In 1961 he was activated by the Army National Guard where he served as an E6 Staff Sergeant with the 139th Engineer Battalion as a combat engineer.  He remained active with this battalion until 1962 when he was honorably discharged from the Army National Guard and remained active with the Idaho National Guard until he received an honorable discharge in 1963. 

In addition to his farming activities Duane was involved with local community organizations and Farm Bureau on local, state, and national levels.  He was a member of the Franklin Farm Bureau and the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation’s young people’s committee from 1965 to 1968, holding the position of vice chairman of the American Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers National committee in 1965.  In 1973 Duane served as Vice President of the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation.

On July 16, 1974, Duane married Nadine Solders in Gooding, Idaho and the family expanded to include Lawrence and Todd Nixon, a daughter Lisa and they welcomed another daughter, Sabrina, in 1979.  The family made their home in Melba, Idaho where they owned and operated Jacobson’s Feedlot from 1974 to 1997.  From 1993 to 1997 Duane and Nadine owned the Heart Diamond Ranch in Mesa, Idaho.  In 1997 they expanded their business interests and operated a trucking business focused on road construction materials in Southern California and Arizona.  Duane returned to agriculture in 2008 when he took on the role of manager and production consultant for Wilson Creek Feeders, a job he enjoyed and held until his final illness in 2022.

Duane was preceded in death by his parents, Lewey and Lucille Jacobson, a sister Mary Lou Gray, and a brother Lyle Jacobson.  He is his survived by his wife Nadine Jacobson of Melba, and six children, Myron Jacobson of Nampa, Audra Coffelt of Caldwell, Lisa (Ryan)Wilson of Nampa, Sabrina (Josh) Polfer of Melba, Lawrence (Susie) Nixon of Melba and Todd Nixon of Melba, 10 grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren, a sister Elaine (Jay) Head of Boise and brother-in-law Lawrence Gray of Nampa.

Public services will be held at Nampa Funeral Home, Yraguen Chapel, 415 12th Ave S, Nampa, Idaho on Friday, September 16, 2022, at 11.00 AM.  Interment will follow at the Weiser Cemetery at 2.00 PM.

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