In Memoriam

Richard N. Jacunski

Richard R. Jacunski died on September 24, 2013 at Southern Ocean Medical Center in Barnegat, NJ. 

Dick Jacunski and his twin brother Bob (who died in 2011) entered Yale with our Class in 1959. As Dick wrote in our 50th Reunion Class Book, he and his brother Bob were “blessed and honored to play end on undefeated 1959 Freshman Football and undefeated 1960 Yale Football teams.”

Dick took a leave of absence after his knee was broken in a football practice accident, returning in 1963 and graduating in 1965. Dick earned his MBA with honors at Seton Hall University, and worked as a business broker and as a negotiations engineer in Sales Marketing for Westinghouse in Newark, NJ.

Dick is survived by his wife, Joyce Dul-Jacunski; three daughters, Johanna Weinberg, Elizabeth Purcell, and Barbara Nina; and six grandchildren.

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Hank Hallas remembers Dick and his brother as follows:

 “When I first met Dick and Bob at our first Freshman Football practice I had the first of several ‘what the hell am I doing here’ moments during my speckled football career. We always referred to them as ‘the Twins’, and none of the other ends were very good at telling them apart. The Twins were the quintessential Yale Football ends. They were tough, they were fast, they knew the Yale system, and they could catch. They also played hard every snap, never complained, and were always gentlemen.

The one liability, which most of us didn’t consider as such, was that their father was the Yale End Coach. Truth be known, I never saw any favoritism issued to either man. It wasn’t until after graduation that I began to reflect on the burden on the Twins to have a Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame father as a coach.

My primary recollection of both Dick and Bob is the outstanding football skill they possessed and their dedication of effort while maintaining a gentlemanly approach to their fellow ends. I salute them both.”

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 Ian Robertson recalls:

“Richard Jacunski (RJ) and his brother Bob had distinguished high school football careers in New Haven. In after years, RJ, in an obituary for his brother, mentioned that Bob had been an All New England end. Typically, RJ did not mention that he too had been named All New England.

It was my privilege to ‘compete’ with RJ for playing time at left end. During our Freshman Football season, RJ and Dillon Hoey were the starting ends. Although most of us played in every game, RJ was clearly the superior athlete. In 1960, RJ did particularly well in preseason camp, but not well enough to crack the starting lineup of a stellar end squad.

The 1960 season was the stuff of dreams. It was Yale’s last unbeaten untied season, the last time Yale finished as a nationally ranked team, and the last time Yale won the Lambert trophy. RJ and Brother Bob got to be part of all that. In the Dartmouth game that year, RJ proved himself to Head Coach Jordan Olivar. RJ played hurt, but rose to the occasion.

Had he not broken his knee the next fall, he would have had an outstanding football career at Yale. He was always a gentleman, a pleasure to compete against, and remained a beloved member of the undefeated ’59 Freshman team.”