Christopher Dean Jacobson

Chris Jacobson was born November 1, 1980. He died July 16, 2020 holding his wife's, Megan Jacobson's, hand and surrounded by his Grandma, Joy Jacobson, and his friends-to-family Brad Benoit and AJ Forest with their new born daughter, Daisy. He was 39 years old. Chris was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer (a glioblastoma, stage 4) on November 6, 2017. Chris changed his whole life to stay alive longer: he stopped eating sugar, preservatives and modified foods, he got rid of wireless technology, he went fragrance-free, he moved out of Victoria to get fresh air and he was still going to the gym and lifting weights 2 months into chemo and radiation. He deserved more time. I am so proud of Chris. He left no life on the table. He died after completing bucket list items such as hug a sheep and milk a cow. He fought for life until his legs gave out, he lost his sight and his brain started to fail him. He chose a medically assisted death and so he fell asleep… then he stopped breathing. He left the world a better place - there are hospitals in British Columbia that have phone systems working because of his project management skills, General Electric now sells their old MRI machines to veterinarians and hospitals that can't afford them new instead of junking them because of Chris' problem-solving skills... and we who knew him think differently and appreciate life more because of the conversations we had with him. Chris Jacobson was filled with love and wonder. He searched for them the world over, traveling to more than 50 countries, building a family out of once strangers. He took June Salmon as his mother, Brian Sutton as his father, and listed Julian Eilert from Sweden, Felix Kristjansson from Iceland and Chris Melvaine from Australia as his brothers. If you met him you probably never forgot it. He listened without judgement and compassionately held your problems close to his heart. To talk to him meant that you'd never be the same afterwards - you left just a little bit better. Chris loved learning and he strove for excellence in everything he did. From baseball to cats, Chris gave of his time to understand things on a deeper level. I think we all know he was a voracious reader and book collector - he enjoyed researching authors, tracking what he read and keeping copious journals on what had touched his heart as he read. I think he loved so many things because everything was a chance to learn and learning was to be filled with wonder, making him fall in love with the world just a little bit more. He would focus his camera on dewdrops. He would sit and cry at hummingbirds, he would close his eyes as he ate sushi the proper way… he blew me away. Chris had such a beautiful brain. He identified as a Highly Sensitive Person. He told his life by loves - from that first little girl who would pay no attention to him to me, who had the honour of being his wife. I think we've all experienced his hugs (the BEST hugs)… and, although Chris often struggled to pinpoint the essence of himself, I think we all have an idea of what it is, and we could all tell our stories and come up with a million different pieces of the beauty of the man. You can share your story of Chris on the Tribute Wall. Chris, your beauty still astounds me. I miss your hugs so much I ache. I will always read out loud to you, offer you a sip of my coffee and wish to live life with you all over again - over and over and over again. Haunt me, sweetheart. You will never be forgotten - not in my lifetime. Until forever I love you… we love you. You can listen to Chris tell the story of his life, below. He recorded it June 24, 2020. Him singing and playing his guitar at the end of the video was taken just after brain surgery.