NEW LONDON, NH (April 21, 2010) – A funeral service for former Evangelical Covenant Church minister Alf E. Jacobson, 86, will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday at the local First Baptist Church. He died Sunday.

Jacobson was born April 4, 1924, in Spokane, Washington. He married Sonja Torstenson in 1952.

He received an A.A. degree from North Park College in 1948, a Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University in 1952, a master’s degree from Tufts in 1954 and a doctorate from Harvard in 1963. He received the North Park College Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1983.

Jacobson served Beverly Congregational Covenant Church in Beverly, Massachusetts. He was a professor of economics at Colby-Sawyer College from 1958 to 1986 and was faculty emeritus.

He also was a well-respected politician. From 1969 to 1978, he served as a state senator; from 1975 to 1981, he was state Senate president; and from 1982 to 1992 and 1994 until 2001, he served as a state representative.

He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and acted as the battalion interpreter because he was fluent in Japanese and Swedish. He could also speak German and Spanish.

In addition to his wife, survivors include two sons, Brent B. Jacobson of New London, and Kurt T. Jacobson of Dover.

Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Chadwick Funeral Home in New London. Burial will be in Old Main Street Cemetery, New London.