Delia Jacobsen

December 13, 1933 - February 17, 2022

Delia Jacobsen, born December 13, 1933 in Corpus Christi, Texas passed peacefully on Thursday, February 17, in Mission Viejo, California with several loved ones at her bedside. Throughout her life she was lovingly known as “Lily” to her family and friends. Born to Faustino and Benita Villarreal, she was the third of 11 children, two who passed during infancy and three who later passed in adulthood (brothers Ernest, Jesse, and George). She is survived by one brother (“Junior”), four sisters (Mary, Cody, Lydia, and Gracie), three children (Kenneth, Donald, and Kathy), five grandchildren (Tara, Laura, Evan, Jessica, and Eric), and four great-grandchildren (David, Katherine, Michael, and Theodore). Following attendance (but not graduation) at high school, Delia married and was a devoted wife to a career Marine Corps officer for 25 years prior to their divorce. Having no college education and limited job market skills, she worked an additional 20+ years doing what she knew best: providing loving care for others, specifically, some elderly residents of Laguna Hills, California. When her own health began to decline, Delia entered assisted living when she was 83 years old and remained there until the time of her death. Reflections upon her life from one of her children: Mothers…I’m sure they come in many varieties. Ours was simply awesome. For a good part of our early lives when our father was deployed, she was a defacto single mom of three. Although we kids tried to help out, that still can’t be easy. Due to her need to quit high school to begin work in order to help support her large family, Mom grew up having a profound appreciation for the value of education and sacrificed greatly to ensure her children enjoyed opportunities she, herself, did not. She supported her two sons through their college years, borrowing money to do so and when her oldest child purchased his first home, she loaned him enough for a down payment by taking out an equity loan on her home. In most respects, she simply sacrificed nothing to provide them her steadfast love and a better life, even when doing so came at very high - even unwise - cost to herself. I suppose that’s typical of many moms, though, when it comes to caring for their children: they sometimes think and act with their hearts more than their heads. God bless them for that. There’s a lesson in there for some to study and follow, myself included. Being aware of most private details of her life, our mother deserved better and that includes from those closest to her. She deserved the chance to finish high school on time rather than having to complete her GED in adulthood. She deserved better than to be abandoned by the husband she faithfully supported throughout his career while keeping his house and raising their three children. She deserved better than to live out the remaining years of her life without a companion to comfort and care for her. She deserved better in other ways I won’t detail. I pray her surviving loved ones do better honoring her memory than she experienced during much of her life. There will be no formal memorial or funeral service for Delia. Per her request, her remains have been cremated. I pray her children do their very best honoring the treatment and final disposition of her remains. She deserves something honoring, respectful, and reverent that I pray she receives, even if she didn’t think to ask for it. For all the times the people in her life failed or short-changed her, I’m reminded of Christ’s words on the cross: “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” May this wonderful woman rest in peace. We’ll most definitely see you later, Mom!