MAGGIE JACOBSON, Pioneering Phoenix Beauty

Maggie on board ship in the Sea of Cortez in November 2004.The little orphan from St. Paul,Minnesota entertained the captains of industry (at oneor more of her seven homes) and loved to plan and cook all of the meals! Be it HenryCrown (owner and builder of the Empire State Building), ConradHilton (Founder,HiltonHotels), Clint Murchison (owner of the Dallas Cowboys), Lew Wasserman (UniversalStudios Head) and countless others. She and Jake also spent timewith some of Jake’sold roping buddies, including JohnWayne, Roy Rogers and Jim Paul. ButMaggie neverchanged who she really was. She said, “I’m home spun”. She loved gin rummy andbridge and going to “cook out” with her old friends more than anything. She was agood golfer and excellent card player and participated in the same poker game withsome of the City’s other female card sharks (in the ladies room of Phoenix CountryClub) for over 40 years.

In later years, her joy was to spend time with her sons, daughters and grandchildren.Shewas proud of each and every one and participated inmany of their activities.Mag-gie believed in hardwork and frugality. She started all of her grandchildren out on sav-ing one quarter a day for their future. She wanted them to know the value of a dollar.Then once shewas satisfied that they had the right foundation, shewas generous to afault, wanting them to enjoy some of the things she never had as a youngster.

Maggie was a quiet philanthropist endowing the Jacobson Blood Center at ScrippsClinic in La Jolla, CA and bequeathing their beautiful wine cellar to the University ofCalifornia Davis. She also supported St. Vincent de Paul, The Salvation Army and GuideDogs for the Blind.

“Maggie was the end of an Era”, said her son Harry Rosenzweig Jr. of Phoenix. “Shewas strong--the type ofwomanwho could have come to theWest in a coveredwagon.She talked to everybody and anybody—we all loved her, and we will miss her.”

Maggie is survived by her three children, Amy Jo and John Gottfurcht, Burke and KathyRosenzweig, Harry and Debi Rosenzweig; five grandchildren, Kris Slattery, Jack Hardy,Katie, Sara andMatt Rosenzweig. Four great grand-children, Alexis and Lauren Hardyand Jack andWill Slattery. Maggie was pre-deceased by her husband Jake, sister Kayand daughters Carol, Christine and Diane.

There will be a Celebration of Life on Friday, Feb 18, 2011 from 4-7 pm at ParadiseValley Country Club. The Family requests that in lieu of flowers, please send any giftsto Hospice of the Valley, 1510 East Flower, Phoenix, Arizona 85014.

Margaret “Maggie” Jacobson, a long-time Paradise Valley Resident, diedFebruary 4, 2011 at age 93.

Born Margaret Christine Burke, in 1917, in St. Paul, Minnesota, Maggie started lifeas an orphan when her mother died in childbirth and her father abandoned thefamily. At the age of 8, Mag-gie visited Jamestown, NorthDakota, where she met her sis-ter, Kay, for the very first time.Together the girls were raisedby their maiden aunt, DorothyNelson, who was only 18 yearsold. Maggie moved to Phoenixin 1934. Her cousin, Kathleen“Vonnie”Nash and her husbandKenneth, ran the elegant Phoe-nix Country Club and thoughtthat Maggie should “ComeWest”.

Arriving in Phoenix, Maggiewas the talk of the town. Shewas a great dancer, had a bub-bling personality, a model-likefigure and was sharp as a tack.AsQueen of the very first FiestaParade, in 1937, her popularitysoared and she became one ofthe more sought after youngladies in town.

Working at the Chamber of Commerce,Maggie remembered Phoenix when its popula-tionwas only 58,000. She loved theWest and took up the cause personally, by becomingAmericanAirlinesofficialCalendarGirl tohelpbringEasterners toTheValleyof theSun.In fact, as a result of this successful promotion, Burke Smith (brother of the Head ofAmerican Airlines) began a romance with Maggie which almost led to marriage in1937. Even at 93 she marveled at the growth of the Valley she loved. And while shehated the traffic, she always said, “You can’t stop progress!”.

In 1938 and with Barry Goldwater as Best Man, Maggie married Harry Rosenzweigof the prestigious Rosenzweig Jewelry Family. Together, they were the center of thePhoenix young social set, which included current and future political leaders like theGoldwaters,Mardians, Driggs and Rhodes, to name a few. Also from the business are-na were theMelczers, Diamonds, Korricks and Jack Durant, whose steak house is stilla regular haunt of Phoenicians.

Shortly after marrying Harry, the wild and wooly days of Pre-War Phoenix began totake hold. In fact, Maggie was playing ping pong in Bob and Sally Goldwater’s base-ment when on December 7, 1941, Maggie heard those famous words of FDR announc-ing that America was now at war with Im-perial Japan. After the bombing of PearlHarbor. Maggie often said, “The war yearswere different…we didn’t know if we wouldbe alive or dead in six months…so we livedfor themoment.” Themoment also includedserving as a red-cross nurse taking care ofwoundedWWII Veterans returning to Phoe-nix.

After 17 years of marriage,Maggie and Har-ry decided to part ways. She soon marriedthe highly successful and brash ExecutiveVP of the Del E. Webb Construction Com-pany, one L.C. “Jake” Jacobson. Her life withJacobsonwas a far cry from the life she hadlived previously. Prior to Jake, Maggie usu-ally slept until 10 a.m. and partied until thewee hours. Jake on the contrary, was up at5 a.m., and at his desk shortly thereafter,running the Del E. Webb Corporation. Soonafter they were married, Jake told Maggie,“I’ll stay up with you as late as you wantat night, so long as you get up with me inthe morning.” It wasn’t long untilMaggie too,was early to bed and early to rise.

Her life with Jacobson was equally fascinat-ing. As the premier developer of the Southwest, Jacobson built many of the country’s great edifices and institutions…Sun City,Mountain Shadows, Anaheim Stadium, The Sahara, TheMint and The Thunderbird ho-tels, The Beverly Hilton, and Air Force Bases including Luke andWilliams Field.Maggieattended every openingwith glamour and style.When DelWebb bought the New YorkYankees with Dan Topping in 1952, Maggie was at every major World Series whereYankee Pinstripes were “King”. She and Jake attended Don Larson’s 1956 World Se-ries “perfect game”—still considered the most memorable sports achievement of alltime.

Maggie and Jake Jacobson havingdinner at the Sahara Hotel in

Las Vegas in 1958.

Maggie as the Goddess of the Sun in the firstFiesta Day parade in Phoenix, 1937.