Phil Kaplan

News Sentinel

Jeff Jacoby, a familiar voice in Knoxville radio since 1983, passed away Sunday after a more than two-year valiant battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 61.

A celebration of life service will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday at Cokesbury United Methodist Church in the main sanctuary, 9908 Kingston Pike.

Jacoby, Mickey Dearstone and Heather Harrington have taken the pulse of Knoxville sports fans on "Doc, Jeff and Heather in the Morning" from 6-10 a.m. on WNML Sports Radio since January 2000.

Jacoby was born in Toledo, Ohio and later relocated with his parents to Cincinnati, where he graduated from Finneytown High School. He played college football at Tennessee Tech from 1973-76.

Jeff Jacoby Guest Book on Knoxville News Sentinel

He moved to Knoxville in the early 1980s to become an account executive at WMYU Radio. He later became general sales manager and vice president and general manager before leaving in 1998.

He was hired by Dick Broadcasting Group (now Cumulus Media) in 2000 as a sports reporter and account executive.

Jacoby joined the Vol Network in 1985 in various roles.

Jacoby's daughter, Angie Merrick, posted the news on her Facebook page and wrote the following:

My daddy gained his angel wings this morning! Over the last 2 plus years he faught the biggest battle of his life and He had a goal for Christmas and he made it!!! He taught all of us how to be courageous and live life to its fullest. May we celebrate his wonderful life and precious memories we have with him!! Please keep our family in your prayers in the coming days! Merry Christmas to ALL and know that my daddy is celebrating with Jesus in heaven and having the biggest celebration we can imagine!!! Make sure to hug on your loved ones a little closer today!! Thank you so much for all your love, kind words and prayers during this battle! You will never know how much it has meant to my daddy and our family!! My daddy lived life to its fullest!! Raise a glass to him as we celebrate his beautiful life!! #jacobystrong Jeff David Jacoby #blessed

Jacoby underwent the first of four rounds of chemotherapy in November of 2014. He had been open about his cancer battle, posting updates on his Facebook page.

In a December 2014 interview with the News Sentinel, Jacoby was positive about his progress.

“I just want to thank all the listeners, my family and friends,’’ Jacoby said. “The Facebook stuff has been unbelievable.

“I’ve got people praying for me from coast to coast.’’

Jacoby is survived by his wife, Sheree; mother, Nina; brother, Doug; daughters, Angie, Kristi; sons, Brad, Chase; and five grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be given to "Game on Against Cancer" at Thompson Cancer Survival Center Foundation, 1915 White Ave., Knoxville, Tenn., 37916.