MADISON - Betty M. Jacobson, age 78, of Beaver Dam, went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, from Bay Harbor Assisted Living and Memory Care. She was born on March 12, 1947, in Madison, the daughter of Bertha Lee Sanders and Harry Melvin Anderson. She grew up in McFarland on Lake Waubesa.

Betty was a member of the first graduating class from McFarland High School in 1965, after which she spent a year as a Vista Volunteer before going to nursing school. With her first husband, Raymund Munson, she had three children. After their divorce, she met and married her "soulmate" Richard C. Jacobson. After almost 30 years together, Richard left to be with the Lord on Christmas Eve of 2006. Betty then moved to Portage, where she lived for 17 years. In her last years, she found comfort and companionship with James Pautz.

For over thirty years, Betty cherished annual camping trips with friends at Camp Black Hawk Girl Scout Camp during “Women’s Week”. Photography was not her passion; it was her way of life. She even took an associate degree in photography from MATC. She loved to help, serve, and make people laugh as a nurse, Girl Scout leader, cake decorator, and clown. She was a member of Baraboo’s Happy Clown Club.

Betty belonged to many churches over the years, always looking for deeper learning and understanding, for ways to serve God and her community better, and to find within her faith a sense of the divine.

She will always be best known for the iconic laugh that brightened up every room.

Betty will be dearly missed by her daughters, Mari Jacobson and Janice (Larry West Jr.) Daly; son, Erik Jacobson; five grandchildren, Clyde Jacobson, Kole Gavin, Aiden West, Casey West and Lauren West; and many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard; parents, Bertha and Harry; stepmother, Anita Anderson; brothers, Victor, Gary and Mark Anderson; and sister, Carolyn Rice.

A memorial service will be held at CITY OF REFUGE CHURCH PORTAGE, 111 E. Haertel St., Portage, at 2 p.m. on Thursday, January 15, 2026, with Justin O'Boyle presiding. Visitation will be held at the church from 12 noon until the time of the service on Thursday, January 15, 2026. Following the service, the family invites everyone for refreshments and roller skating.

Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson East

Funeral & Cremation Care

5203 Monona Drive

(608) 221-5420

Betty Jacobson

March 12, 1947 - January 06, 2026

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