Memorial Saturday For Musician Robert Jacobs

 

Robert Donnelly ‘‘Pignose Bob’’ Jacobs

On April 6, 2022, Robert Donnelly Jacobs, affectionately known in Sitka for nearly three decades as “Pignose Bob,” passed away peacefully in his sleep at a house on the beach in Bremerton, Washington. He was 65.

Bob’s memorial service will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, September 30, at Centennial Hall. All are welcome.

Bob was born on October 9, 1956, in Lancaster, California. When he was a toddler, his uncle asked him his name. “Elvis,” he replied. The rest, as they say, is the story of a genuinely extraordinary life.

His work spanned three continents and four vocations. 

A career as an animation cameraman took Bob from Los Angeles to Poland to the Philippines to a galaxy far, far away and back, and during a stint on a Ralph Bakshi picture, he discovered that this is, indeed, a Cool World. Bob found his way to Sitka in the 1990s via a job at his uncle’s taxi company, then moved on to employment at the Transfer Station, where he stayed until 2019; and always, in the background and foreground, there was music.

Bob was known in Sitka primarily as a guitarist, but in his home, his history, and his life, he was much more. Music was the love of his life for half a century, and his nickname was taken from a beloved amplifier. He played at least six instruments, was a gifted harmony vocalist, an accomplished producer, a writer and composer of wonderful songs, a long time DJ at Raven Radio, and a bandmate and partner in music to many. His talent, creativity, passion, and fierce intelligence extended into multiple facets of his life. A Renaissance man, he was a brilliant writer, an excellent storyteller, a skilled mechanic, a philosopher, artist, and creator who could do just about anything he put his mind to.

Bob was a wonderful friend; a kind cynic with a wicked sense of humor and a great big, loyal heart. When conversation turned to love and loss, he had three words of advice: “remember the love.”

He is survived by a brother, a sister, and the many bandmates, collaborators, and dear ones who make up the family of his heart.

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20 YEARS AGO

October 2004

Photo caption: Historian Bob DeArmond sits next to a July 4, 1913, photograph of Alaska Territorial Gov. John F.A. Strong at the dedication of the Pioneers Home. DeArmond, who attended the 1913 ceremony, will give a talk on the Pioneers Home Saturday.


50 YEARS AGO

October 1974

Andrew John Hope III, 24, has been selected as one of three Alaskans named as Outstanding Young Men in America for 1974. Hope, the son of Mrs. Christine Littlefield of Sitka and John Hope of Juneau, was graduated from Sitka High in 1967. ... He is presently attending Sheldon Jackson College.

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