Jacob John Dorner

Phoenix – Jacob John Dorner died peacefully at Lincoln Heights Assisted Living in Phoenix, AZ on 8/23/2022 four days shy of his 99th birthday.

Jake was born 8/27/1923 in Luxemburg, Wisconsin to the late Jacob George Dorner and Francis K (Rank). On August 27, 1949 Jake married Mary Lucille Sacotte of Green Bay at St Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Green Bay. After 48 years of marriage, Mary preceded Jake in death on 2/11/1998 in Phoenix AZ. They would have four children: Susan, Jeffry, Chris and Patricia.

Jake and his twin brother, George, have different birthdates. Jake born before midnight, George shortly after. They grew up on the family dairy farm in Luxemburg WI to parents who were both born in Wisconsin but spoke only German until the first of their 13 children started grade school. They were taught a good work ethic and most of the children were schooled through 6th grade in a one-room schoolhouse. After 6th grade Jake was sent to work on his uncle’s farm less than 20 miles away. He made $1.00 a day in summer and $.50 a day in winter. This money was sent home to help take care of the large family. He visited his family a few times per year. He worked for his uncle for two years until his aunt sat him down one day and told him he was too smart to not go back to school. He finished high school where he played on the football team and where he played a variety of musical instruments in the band.

He enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1942. He did basic training in St Petersburg FL where he was getting ready to ship out. He noticed a military marching band was practicing on the field near the railroad station. He approached the band director and asked if there were any openings in the band. They needed a tuba player, Jake tried out on the spot, and Jake was pulled out of line and put into the marching band. They played for war bond fund raisers and various military events; Jake never went overseas during WWII. He ended his military career stationed in San Francisco with his twin brother George.

After the war Jake took advantage of the GI Bill and attended college in Plattsburgh NY. He joined a swing band led by a friend from his days in the army. Jake played bass fiddle for a variety of bands and orchestras for the rest of his life. Jake would return to Wisconsin where he met his bride Mary Lu Sacotte.

Jake was blessed with a friendly personality and a gift for sales. He sold used cars; worked for Standard Oil delivering home fuel; was a food broker selling a wide variety of consumer items to grocery stores; sold commercial lightbulbs where he often had to provide installs using very (VERY) tall ladders even though he had a bit of vertigo. As there was rarely no one he wouldn’t strike up a conversation with, he met a guy while getting gasoline one day in the early 70s who was looking for someone to run his travel agency. As luck would have it, Jake and his wife along with his sister and brother-in-law had just returned from an extensive trip to Europe where his niece got married to a US Navy guy in Naples, Italy. His love of travel was lit and he took the job. Eventually Jake opened his own travel agency and worked in this industry into his 70s. After his wife died in 1998, Jake struck up a conversation at the community mail box and landed a job helping the neighbor with his bee business. Jake helped to maintain the bee boxes but always made time for his coffee break to watch Bob Barker on “The Price is Right”.

Jake and Mary lived in the Green Bay area until 1982. They hopped in the car with a goal of finding the best place to retire. Mary was thinking Florida or maybe North Carolina, but while she napped Jake steered them toward Arizona. They moved to Phoenix and spent every day loving the weather and never ONCE missed a good ice storm or scraping ice off of windshields or pulling frozen milk bottles off the porch after the milk man came to deliver.

Jake enjoyed building things (his twin brother was a home builder and Jake built several homes with him). Actually, Jake really enjoyed fixing things. His ingenuity was forever displayed when something needed fixing and there wasn’t a ready-made solution at the hardware store. He reconfigured an old school bus into a motor home that slept 8, and this was years before The Partridge Family did the same. That’s not to say some things didn’t work out as planned: He did have a year-long argument with a house cat named Vern to try to secure the kitty-door to prevent Vern from bringing birds and lizards into the home after early morning escapades. Jake achieved victory, but only after Vern got tired of winning.

Jake enjoyed reading with a particular penchant for thrillers from James Patterson, Dan Brown, Robert Ludlum and the like. So much so that Jake did his own writing and penned several novels which haven’t, YET, been published. His love of words was certainly utilized as he did several crossword puzzles every day along with the daily Jumble and the Sudoku. One of Jake’s greatest gifts to his family was when he penned his autobiography, peppered heavily with the word “WOW” because he was constantly amazed at the adventures his life seemed to offer. He was also able to identify “most” of the people in the sepia-toned photos that had been passed down through his family and shared the stories of these people for future generations. For example, one of his mother’s brothers was a baker and owned his own bakery. His wife died from tuberculosis; and because no one knew a cure or vaccine at the time, the locals wouldn’t patronize the bakery. He was forced to close and start a different career. (He remarried and celebrated a 50th wedding anniversary with this second wife.)

“WOW” indeed! Jake had a life filled with adventure and shared his love of life with all he knew.

Jake is survived by: three of his children Susan K Mauel, Phoenix AZ; Jeffry J (Jan) Dorner, Sun Prairie WI; Patricia A Dorner, Phoenix AZ. His grandchildren: Kathleen M (Andrew) Thomas, Mahtomedia MN; Kellen Jacob Dorner, Sun Prairie WI; Bethany J (Isaac) Ledford, Columbia Heights MN; Mera M (Chris) Charnecki, Janesville WI; and step-grandson Jason E (Sunshine) Duex, Denver CO. And survived by 11 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. He is survived by one sister-in-law Geraldine (George) Dorner.

Jake was preceded in death by: his parents, his parents-in-law Joseph A Sacotte and Catherine C (Karstedt) Sacotte; his wife Mary L (Sacotte), one son Chris J Dorner, one son-in-law Dale M Mauel; 8 sisters Esther (Joe) Linzmeier-Newmes (Ed Newmes); Hilda (Mike) Peot, Anna Mae (Joe) Shefchik-Wisnicky (Clarence Wisnicky); Laura (Arnold) Hessel; Rosella (Orville) Gillis, Rita (Wilmer) Nighorn (Blanche Nighorn), Theresa (Charles) Trofka; Marie (Don) Kassner. 4 brothers Michael (Leone) Dorner; Robert (Elaine) Dorner; his twin brother George Dorner; Anthony (Lois) Dorner.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00am at St Francis & St Mary Catholic Church, 9716 Cemetery Rd, Brussels on Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 11:00am, Father Edward Looney will officiate. Burial will be in the church cemetery following mass. A reception will follow in the church basement. Cotter Funeral and Cremation Care is assisting the family with arrangements.