Roy Leslie Jacobson, 68, died at his home in Ironwood Township on Monday, March 5, 2012,  with his wife and son beside him.          Roy was born in Staten Island, NY, and raised in Manitowish Waters, Wis. In his youth he was an avid outdoorsman and Eagle Scout. He graduated from Lakeland High School in 1961 and was a state champion slalom skier. Roy enlisted in the U.S. Army and volunteered for the Special Forces. He served as a Green Beret in Vietnam, both at Ben Cat, and with the first Mike Force. Roy was commended for heroism in ground combat and earned the coveted Bronze Star for Valor in 1965. After serving in the Army, Roy transitioned to work with Air America, a Central Intelligence Agency organization and operated Hmong and Lao Commando teams throughout Southeast Asia in the 1960's. He had 48 months of combat. Roy earned a Bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Superior and then a Master's degree in Boreal Ecology from the University of Alberta, Canada in 1974. After graduate school, he worked as an Ecologist and Game Warden in Canada's Yukon and Northwest Territories where he lived and traveled year-round with Eskimo and Dene hunters and trappers. Roy had a dozen publications on Boreal and Cultural Ecology which are still in use by the Canadian Wildlife Service. Roy and his family moved back to Wisconsin in 1980 and he began another career with the Wisconsin DNR. He served as Deputy Director, Northern Region and Assistant Director, Office of Environmental Law Enforcement. As a Special Conservation Warden, he had the first felony conviction for environmental crime in Wisconsin. He also provided training for many foreign environmental enforcement programs and trained Vietnam's first Game Warden force. He retired as a Ranger Supervisor for the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest in 2001. Roy remained extremely active, guest instructing at the U.S. Army Special Warfare Center and School and also Gogebic Community College. Since 2005, he has organized and mailed more than 135,000 packets of donated vegetable and melon seeds to Special Forces A Teams in Iraq and Afghanistan, helping win hearts and minds. His Vietnam War memoir, Hai Si , was recently published. Among his numerous accomplishments, Roy was proudest of his family and close friends. Roy will be remembered as a devoted husband and father. Friends and co-workers remember him as a sincere mentor and someone who could be depended upon when needed. His faithful Husky, Shida, will miss their daily walks. He was a member of VFW Post 9536, Mercer, Wis., Ironwood American Legion Post 5, National Eagle Scout Association, Mensa, 1 st Special Forces Regiment, Air America Association, and St. Johns Lutheran Church. He has been married to his wife Judith for 44 years and his son is also a Special Forces soldier. He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister. Surviving are his wife, Judith (Korpi), Ironwood Township; son, Eric (Sherre), Clarksville, Tenn.; two sisters, Judy (Eduardo) Paz, Milwaukee, and Lois (John) Egelhof, Bemidji, Minn.; and numerous nieces and nephews. Out of respect for Roy's wishes, cremation has taken place. Memorial services will be held Saturday, March 10, at 11 a.m., preceded by visitation at 10 a.m., at Zion Lutheran Church, 100 W. Midland Ave., in Ironwood, with the Rev. Peggy Rose, pastor, and the Rev. Chips Paulson, Hospice chaplain, co-officiating. Committal will take place at the church, where full military honors will be accorded by the 5th Special Forces Group Honor Guard. Luncheon will follow in the church fellowship hall. Private interment will be in Sunset Acres Cemetery, Ironwood Township, in the spring. Roy requests that any memorials be donated to the Disabled Area Veterans Van, DAV Van Program, 520 West Southland Ave., Ironwood, MI 49938 or Regional Hospice, 100 So. Mill St., Bessemer, MI 49911. Condolences may be given online at mckevittpatrickfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are entrusted to McKevitt-Patrick Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Ironwood.