Albert George Jakubowski died peacefully in his sleep on Feb. 18, 2022 at his Provincetown home. His son, Jay Jakubowski, son-in-law Shawn Nightingale, and his beloved Havanese, Rosie, were by his side. He was 92.

The son of George Albert Jakubowski from Poland and Helen Narsziewiscz, a first generation Polish-American from Pennsylvania, Al was born on Oct. 29, 1929 in Toledo, Ohio.

Soon after he graduated from high school, Al joined the U.S. Army, serving from January 1949 to August 1952. During the Korean war, he worked as a radio repairman building radio towers to support communication among the troops in battle. He rose to the rank of technical sergeant and earned five medals during his service, including the Korean Service Medal with four bronze stars.

When he returned to Toledo after his service, he began his working life as a carpenter. At Lathrop Construction, Al become a construction supervisor. He continued as a carpenter in Florida until his retirement.

Al’s family was part of a large Polish community in Toledo. It was at a family wedding that he met the love of his life, a young widow, Henrietta Pacholski, who had an infant son named Gregory. “Hy,” as Henrietta was called, and Al married in 1954. Al adopted Greg, then, in 1955, Hy and Al’s son Jay was born. Hy died in 2020 after 66 years of marriage.

Hy and Al lived in Toledo until Jay went off to college. Greg attended Hillsdale College, and after spending his junior year in an education-at-sea program, Greg left for Alaska where he lived life on his own terms.

Jay studied microbiology at the University of Colorado in Boulder before earning his doctorate in veterinary medicine from Ohio State. After he established a practice in Brookline, he bought a house in Provincetown, where Al and Hy became regular summer visitors for the next 38 years. During their stays, Al helped with carpentry projects and enjoyed watching birds from the deck.

Al’s talent as a carpenter and his love of bird watching naturally led to his retirement hobby of making birdhouses. He designed each one to suit a species of bird, a particular friend, and his own whimsy.

Jay estimates that Al sold over a thousand of his rustic avian homes out of Jay’s Brookline clinic, and so they populate the yards and homes of many Boston area residents. In Florida, Al gave away his creations to anyone who wanted one, keeping the bird population in Jupiter very happy.

Jay has fond memories of childhood weekend road trips with his father. And when the family acquired a weekend place near Lake Gage, Ind., Jay recalls, “Al let me spend time there on my own. He let me grow up; he allowed me to become an adult.”

Al was a dedicated family man who retired to Florida to take care of his mother at the end of her life. When the pandemic arrived, Jay followed his father’s lead and went to Florida to shelter in place with Al and Hy. Nine months later, Jay brought his parents to live in Provincetown, though Al longed for his Jupiter home.

His final years in Provincetown gave Al a special bond with Jay, son-in-law Shawn, and his caregiver Tenzin. They all bid Al goodbye in the hope that his death will reunite him with his greatest love, his late wife.

A private family memorial service will be held in the spring at which a tree will be planted in Al’s memory. The tree will be adorned with one of Al’s birdhouses.

To leave a memory or an online condolence for the family, see gatelyfuneralservice.com.