John Frederick Jacobs, II of Concord, Massachusetts passed away comfortably on Friday, August 20, 2021. He was one month shy of his 90th birthday. John was nicknamed "The Chief" as the loving and patient patriarch of his family and extended family. He was loved, respected, and admired as a leader, intellectual, and family man. John was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1931, the eldest of two sons to George Jacobs of Chicago and the former Mabel Gustafson of Wahoo, Nebraska. He was humbly raised on the north side near Wrigley Field before moving to Beaverton, Oregon in 1944, when his father became employed at Swan Island to build Liberty ships for World War II. He graduated from Beaverton High School in 1949. John then worked at Montgomery Ward for a year, saving money for his education before attending Reed College in Portland, Oregon. He continued to work his way through school at the Portland Fish and Coos Bay Lumber Companies. John later transferred to the Pacific University on a debate team scholarship and graduated in 1954 with a Bachelor of Science in Physics. He also earned a teaching certificate and returned to Beaverton High as a physics instructor for a year. In 1955, the military service draft remained active despite the Korean War armistice agreement almost two years prior. John felt his draft was imminent but wanted to serve in a technical specialty rather than at the needs of the services. Therefore, he voluntarily enlisted in the United States Army in April. His decision paid off when he was chosen to attend the Army Language School at the Presidio of Monterey, California, where he became a Russian linguist. He graduated language school in 1956 and transferred to Fort Meade, Maryland, assigned to the Army Security Agency. His new role found him attached to the National Security Agency (NSA) working on Soviet intelligence. He honorably completed his tour of duty in April 1958 and returned to his NSA position the next day as a civilian. John left the NSA for employment at the Boeing Corporation in Seattle, Washington from 1961-1963. He worked as an engineer specializing in electronic countermeasures in their military division. He was lured away from Boeing by a colleague and joined the fledgling MITRE Corporation, a non-profit defense contractor located in Bedford, Massachusetts. He rose through the ranks over the next thirty years and self-limited his upward movement once he reached department head. John, known for his technical knowledge, developed Cold War era, real-time intelligence gathering and air battle management systems. His expertise in Soviet Union military and space capabilities was second to none. Finally, his servant leadership was renowned within MITRE. John always took the time to mentor and develop the next generation of leaders, with two protégés who became company vice presidents. John loved climbing Mount Hood, building model trains, dogs, classical music, German beer, history, and the Chicago Cubs. He also took great pleasure at the winning of the game Trivial Pursuit in only six questions. John is survived by his wife, Jean Jacobs of Concord, their combined four sons and six grandchildren, and his brother George Jacobs. A private family interment with military honors is planned for John at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord. Concord's Town Flag will fly at half-staff on Friday, August 27th in recognition of John's service to our country. A memorial celebration will be held separately for his larger group of family, friends, and colleagues. In lieu of flowers, please send tax deductible donations in his memory to the Fisher House Foundation . Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.