WESTON, Vt. – Judi Foster Jacobsen grew up on Holden Hill Farm in Weston, Vt., but spent most of her life in Lake Tahoe and Smith Valley, Nev. She passed away on Sept. 29, 2024, from the effects of a stroke.
Judi was born on Oct. 8, 1945, firstborn child of Charlie and Betty (Waite) Foster. Her childhood on Holden Hill Farm in Weston was one of being part of a large family of siblings, and an extended family that lived nearby, and where every birthday and holiday was celebrated together. Judi was a sixth-generation Vermonter.
Judi was cherished by her Vermont and Nevada families. They all admired her for her beauty, generosity, love of music and dancing, gambling, and a nice glass of wine. She was also known in Vermont as an expert skier. Her love for skiing eventually led her to go on a spring skiing trip “out west” in 1970, where she found Lake Tahoe and spent many years there skiing and working at Harvey’s Casino. She never returned to Vermont to live, but made many trips home to Weston to visit friends and family and to get her fill of whole belly fried clams.
Later on, she met and married the love of her life, Ben Jacobsen, to whom she was married for more than 40 years. They built a life together in Gardnerville and Wellington/Smith Valley, Nev., raising strawberries and alfalfa, as well as breeding and raising thoroughbred horses on their large farm. Judi also owned Smith Valley Real Estate, and became a well-known figure in the valley. Ben and Judi were rarely apart from one another, and had wonderful times through the years in their second homes in Hawaii, then in Arizona. Mostly though, they loved their community of Smith Valley and their many close friends there.
Judi belonged to, and was a driving force in, the Cowboy Church, the Soroptimist Club, the Red Hats, the Rotary Club, and Student of the Month – all in Smith Valley.
Judi is survived by her husband Ben Jacobsen; his daughter Erin Jacobsen; son Chris Jacobsen and wife Karyn; along with grandchildren Quinn, Ryan, and Ian Jacobsen; and four great-grandchildren. They all knew her as Mom and Gramma. She is also survived in Vermont by sisters Nancy Angel and Joanne Prouty with husband Ron, and brother Bruce Foster. Judi’s nieces and nephew are Megan Tifft, Catherine and John Angel, Alyssa Prouty, Jill Prouty Coombs and husband Brent (Caroline and Georgia), Lucy Prouty and partner Cory Sweitzer, and Nicole Foster and Allison Foster (Azailya). She was predeceased by her beloved sister Kathy Foster Ahlers, niece Molly Whiting Tifft, and her never-forgotten mother and father.
A memorial gathering on Holden Hill will be held in the near future.