Jacob Wise

After fighting a long battle against pancreatic cancer with remarkable strength and courage, Jacob Dale Wise, 37, passed away on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at the Cedar Valley Hospice Home in Waterloo. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to the Jacob Wise Memorial Scholarship or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PANCAN): https://bold.org/funds/jacob-wise-memorial-scholarship-fund/ Jacob was a man of many interests and an ever-growing collection of knowledge, skills, and accomplishments. Whenever he started a daunting new project, he would find a tutorial online and say “I can do that. It will only take like an hour.” There seemed to be no end to his creativity, and he had a clear passion for all things DIY. He was quick-witted, driven, incredibly thoughtful, unknowingly hilarious, nurturing, a joy to be around and a chronic silence filler. When he wasn’t creating or fixing something, he enjoyed spending his free time gardening, landscaping, laughing at TikTok videos, learning celebrity backstories, watching movies or true crime shows, thrifting, listening to 90s music, and spending time with his family, friends and pets. More than anything, Jacob was a loving and selfless brother, son, uncle, husband, cat dad and teacher. He cared deeply for those lucky enough to be in his life, and he always wanted to make sure his people were taken care of. He loved teaching and he took great pride in his students and their education. Jacob was born on September 30, 1988, to Renee Robinson and Bryan Wise (Brian Kind) in Sioux City, Iowa. He graduated from Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn High School in 2007 and went on to receive his Associate of Arts degree from Western Iowa Tech in 2012, his Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education with a dual major in Middle Level Education from the University of Northern Iowa in 2015, and his Master of Arts degree in Reading with an emphasis in Elementary Education from Grand Canyon University in 2021. On June 30, 2018, he was united in marriage to Daniel J. Christoffer in Cedar Falls. Jacob started his teaching career in 2016 at Eldora-New Providence Elementary School, later moving to Jesup Middle School in 2022 where he taught 5th grade Science and Social Studies and 6th grade Social Studies. He leaves behind his husband, Danny Christoffer of Cedar Falls, IA; his father, Brian (Elaine) Kind of Clarksville, TN; his parents-in-law, Karla (John) Eglseder of Guttenberg, IA and Paul (Tammy) Christoffer of Dyersville, IA; his siblings, Joseph (Helen) Wise of Southern Pines, NC; Bryan (Nick) Swiatkowski-Welch of Cadiz, KY; Lauren (Adam) Schmidt of North Liberty, IA; Jordan (Ruben) Campillo of Humble, TX; Morgan (Dustin) Zeschke of Waterloo, IA; Joy Wise of Waterloo, IA; Jackie Martin of Correctionville, IA; Kelsey Hernandez of Cedar Falls, IA; Tyler (April) Obermann of Waterloo, IA; Matthew Obermann of Clear Lake, IA; Brooklyn Obermann of Correctionville, IA; his siblings-in-law, Derek (Jenna) Christoffer of Richmond Hill, GA; Sam Christoffer of Cedar Falls, IA; Joe Christoffer of Dyersville, IA; and 11 nieces and nephews. He was preceded in passing by his stepmother, Ann Kind (Netha Wise).

Jacob Wise

September 30, 1988 - March 4, 2026