courtesy of Susan Jacobs Susan Jacobs owns and operates Jacobson Funeral Home in L’Anse.

L’ANSE — Ambition has never been in question for Susan Jacobs, funeral director and owner of Jacobson Funeral Home in L’Anse.

Jacobs moved to L’Anse in 1999 when her expanding family led her to pursue her own business by purchasing both Sirard Funeral Home in Baraga and Jacobson in L’Anse. Now with 34 years of business under her belt, she has felt her career path has been a very rewarding opportunity.

From the age of 8, Jacobs was aligning herself with some of the most ambitious in her generation competing in ski racing. Originally from Iron Mountain, Jacobs competed throughout high school, spending summers in Oregon, training with the best racers in the nation. Jacobs pursued the highest levels of competition participating in Junior Olympics and at the U.S. National ski racing events from the age of 15. Her experiences in racing would lead Jacobs beyond trials and tribulations of the business world.

“My race career had provided me with the tools I needed to succeed in life and still use today,” Jacobs says.

Among those, her ability to network and build relationships with people from various backgrounds, her scheduling skills and, of course, her devotion to a craft.

Jacobs attributes much of her success to “the dedication to training to better your skill, along with the motivation to put it all on the line to perform to the best of your ability along with learning to accept loss or failure and have the desire to get back up and try again.”

Jacobs, always intent on pursuing higher education, made her way to Wayne State University School of Mortuary Science. In pursuing her degree and keeping in line with her drive to achieve, Jacobs was awarded the Beaver Edwards Restorative Art Award, the school’s highest honor.

Following graduation, she returned to Iron Mountain, partnering with her brother at three funeral homes.

In moving to L’Anse, Jacobs was primed for providing a home to her family and services to her new neighbors. No stranger to the small town living of the Upper Peninsula, her desire to provide the utmost care for those experiencing grief was a challenge she was ready to embrace.

“Working in a small town is rewarding in so many ways, getting to know the people you are helping and being there to assist them through the difficult time of losing a loved one.”

Her strengths as a woman funeral director come from the compassion she can express “that can bring comfort and understanding,” as well as providing support to the families in preparing necessary paperwork that follows a death.

A member of the National Funeral Directors Association and serving on the Michigan Mortuary Response as well as assisting Baraga County with all medical examiner cases makes for a rigorous and devoted relationship with her work.

“As a funeral home owner for 34 years, my work is my passion,” Jacobs says.

Dedicated to the fullest, Jacobs still has time to give back to her community and pursue her passions and family.

“Community service has always been an important part of my life,” Jacobs says.

Since moving to Baraga County, she has served on the board of directors for the Baraga County Community Foundation, Baraga County Chamber of Commerce, Memorial Hospice and the Sacred Heart School Board.

“As a mentor, I have been able to talk about my career as a funeral director to many high school students to help them define the career path that would fit their interests,” Jacobs says.

In her free time, Jacobs can still be seen barreling down the slopes, otherwise she enjoys being outdoors, swimming, traveling and spending time with her family.