Barbara Jacobsen

On 12/24/2025 Barbara Dawn (Buscher) Jacobsen (60) of Bloomington, IL, surrounded by her immediate family, closed her beautiful brown eyes for the last time and started her final journey to be reunited with cherished family and friends in Heaven. She was born June 27, 1965, the beloved daughter of John and Lucille Buscher, the first of their four children.

Barbara was preceded in death by her grandparents, Gilbert and Gertrude Lawrence, of Grant Park, Illinois, and John Charles and Marie Rita Pitcher Buscher, of Springfield, Illinois.

She is survived by her husband Ernst, of Bloomington, two daughters, Isabelle Jacobsen, of Vancouver, Canada; Annalise Jacobsen, of Miami, Florida; her parents, John and Lucille Buscher, of Normal; three siblings, John (Anna) Buscher, of Alexandria, Virginia; Joe Buscher, of Edina, Minnesota; Rebecca (Stefan) Kinnestrand, of Redmond, Washington, and two nephews and a niece, John David Buscher, of Santa Clara, California, and Will and Anna Kinnestrand, both of Redmond, Washington.

A graduate of University High School in 1983 and Illinois State University in 1987, Barbara's passion for politics led her to Washington, DC, where she worked for Senator Paul Simon's campaign and later as an assistant to the chief-of-staff for Senator Alan J. Dixon before eventually forming her own media relations firm. She married Ernst Jacobsen on October 26, 1996, and they were married for 29 years. They originally lived in Washington, DC, followed by a few years in San Luis Obispo, California, before settling in Bloomington-Normal to raise a family, where Barbara continued to enjoy a varied career, most recently as an assessment platform manager at the office of Clinical Experiences and Certification Processes (CECP) at ISU.

Barbara found the most joy spending time with family, her signature laugh always filling the air, and would selflessly do anything for family simply out of pure love and the goodness of her heart, especially for her two beautiful, intelligent daughters, who were the light of her life.

Barbara will be fondly remembered for her outgoing, cheerful personality, someone who could talk--and would talk--to almost anyone with ease, as well as being a loving mother, wife, and daughter, a deeply caring, close-knit family member, and a devoted friend. She will be greatly missed.

Visitation will be held at Holy Trinity Church in Bloomington, Illinois, Friday, January 2, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. followed by a memorial Mass. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery in Normal. Details of a reception will be announced after the service.

Flowers will be accepted at Carmody-Flynn Funeral Home or donations encouraged to Susan G. Komen breast cancer organization: www.komen.org.

Online condolences can be made to Carmody-Flynn Funeral Home: https://calvertmemorial.com/location/carmody-flynn-bloomington/