Elder Jacob de Jager dies at 81

Elder Jacob de Jager, an emeritus general authority for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died Wednesday, Feb. 25, at his home. He was 81.

Elder de Jager, who joined the church in 1960, served in the First Quorum of the Seventy for more than 17 years and was granted emeritus status on Oct. 2, 1993.

A month later, he was called as bishop of the Canyon Road Ward in the Salt Lake Eagle Gate Stake.

In his early years as a general authority, Elder de Jager served as an executive administrator in the United States and Canada and as a counselor in the International Mission presidency. He also was an area supervisor in Southeast Asia and the Philippines.

He later served as president of the Asia and South America South areas and counselor in the Asia, South America South, North America Central and North America West area presidencies.

Elder de Jager was born Jan. 16, 1923, in The Hague, Netherlands, to Alexander Philippus de Jager and Maria Jacoba Cornelia Scheele.

To escape slave labor in Germany during the Nazi occupation of Holland in World War II, Elder de Jager went into hiding for more than two years. It was during that time that he studied various languages. Elder de Jager was fluent in English, French, Spanish and Malaysian, as well as his native Dutch.

Elder de Jager served as an interpreter with the Canadian Army in Europe. Later he was assigned to the Dutch East-Indies (now Indonesia) as a welfare officer with Dutch Expeditionary Forces. He was awarded the Royal "For Peace and Order Medal."

After moving his family to Toronto, Elder de Jager was converted and baptized into the LDS Church in May of 1960. He had first been introduced to the church three years earlier while in the Netherlands.

Elder de Jager worked for 26 years with Philips International Electronics Industries. He served on the National Advisory Council of the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University.

Elder de Jager married Bea Lim on May 20, 1954, in Jakarta, Indonesia. They were sealed in the Swiss Temple on June 20, 1966. He is survived by two children, Dr. Michael de Jager and Audrey Inez de Jager Poulson.

Funeral services are scheduled Monday, March 1, at noon at the Ensign Stake Center, 135 N. A Street. Friends may call Sunday evening, Feb. 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Larkin Mortuary, 260 E. South Temple, and Monday from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. at the meetinghouse.