Arja Kaarina Jacobs Obituary

Arja K. Jacobs, age 76, formerly of Waupaca, passed away Tuesday October 17, 2023.

Arja Kaarina Jacobs was born November 23, 1946 in Helsinki, Finland, to a large family. Her father was a well-known artist and painter locally. As a child, she loved to ski, and would often ski to school. The older children worked outside the home to help provide for the family and Arja was able to work as a model for magazines in the fashion industry. This opened up the opportunity to work in Australia as a model. While there, she met and fell in love with David MacArthur while he was overseas with the U.S. military. The couple came back to the United States and settled in Chicago where they were married and raised two daughters. They were married for over 20 years and later decided to go their separate ways. Arja was a hard-worker and cleaned houses for a living while the girls were in school. She was very good at her job because she was a bit of a germaphobe, which was the running joke with her children and grandchildren. Arja loved quilting, crafting, and was an expert seamstress when it came to making clothes. She will be remembered for her sweet, kind, and helpful way with people; and the love she had for babies and young children.

Arja is survived by her daughters: Helen & Heather Grandchildren: Brittany, Karina, & Lauren Great-grandchildren: Joseph & Nickoli.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her first husband, David MacArthur.

A celebration of life will be held privately at a later date.