Lillian Joy Jacobs, age 93, of Huron, passed away on Sunday, June 7, 2026 at Huron Regional Medical Center in Huron. A Family Celebration of Life Service will be held at a later date with burial at Restlawn Memory Gardens Cemetery in Huron. 

Lillian Joy was born on June 12, 1932 to George and Evelyn (Phillips) Dickson in Mobridge, South Dakota. Her father was superintendent of schools. The family moved around South Dakota and lived in the communities of Timber Lake, Estelline, Scotland, Volin, Glenham, Farmer and Corsica. She even spent her third-grade year in San Antonio, Texas with her grandmother Lillian Phillips. She graduated from Corsica High School in 1950.

Lillian answered her calling to care for others when she enrolled in nurses’ training in June of 1950. Her education took her to Aberdeen, Mitchell, and Omaha, where she gained experience in a variety of nursing specialties. After graduating in 1953, she began her nursing career at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Mitchell, serving patients in the medical and surgical unit.

On September 21, 1957, Lillian married Donald Lee Jacobs in Mitchell. The couple made their home in Huron, where Lillian continued her lifelong dedication to nursing. She worked in pediatrics and then medical at St. John’s Hospital before her career took her to Violet Tschetter Memorial Home. For many years, she served as a daytime nurse providing compassionate care and companionship to countless residents and their families. Nursing was more than a profession to Lillian—it was a vocation she embraced wholeheartedly. She treasured the relationships she formed throughout her career and considered it a privilege to care for those in need.

Outside of her work, and later in retirement, Lillian enjoyed watching classic movies and staying informed about current events. She especially cherished visits from family, and as her eyesight declined, she looked forward to phone conversations that kept her connected to the people she loved most.

She is survived by her children, Cathy (Wayne) Goethel of Huron, Russell Scott (Robin) Jacobs of La Crosse, WI, and Donald (Mary) Jacobs of Huron; seven grandchildren, Becky (Rob) Baker, Amy Goethel, Hope (Dillon) Corcoran, Cody (Darla) Jacobs, Alex Jacobs, Eric Jacobs, and Dylan Weigel; 12 great-grandchildren; her sister, Jeri Dickson Risty of Sioux Falls; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her father in 1957, her mother in 2009, her husband Don in 1995, granddaughter Carrie Goethel in 1990, and her two sisters Julie Shoemaker in 1988 and Jan Krediet in 2024.