It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of June Ackerman on February 3, 2021, at 87 years of age.

Born April 11th, 1933, June will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by her 4 children; Arla (Tim) Ellis, Mike (Nola) Ackerman, Mark (Marla) Ackerman and Christine (Rick) Schunter. She had the pleasure of enjoying 14 grandchildren, and many great grandchildren – and all of whom were considered “her favourite one.”

June was predeceased by her beloved husband of 57 years, Jack Christian Ackerman (Armstrong B.C), Eldest daughter Betty (Peter) Poznikoff, son in law Tim (Arla) Ellis, as well as 4 older brothers and one sister; Bob, Lloyd, Clarence and Glen Bodaly, and Dixie Rolston. Younger sister Sharon (Dave) Stewart will fondly remember June’s terrific sense of humor and recall fun trips to Reno with their husbands in earlier years.

June married Jack in December 1951, in Nelson B.C, and held jobs in the Nelson Hospital, a care home, and KFP plywood plant. After moving to Armstrong later, mom worked In Dinwoodie’s retirement home and Colonial Farms.

Growing up with soldier brothers, and a mother who bootlegged alcohol while renting accommodations to soldiers passing through Port Alberni, mom learned that life continually throws curve balls, and the importance of rolling with changes – at every age. She always finished what she set out to do in life, and was solid in her faith, and strong willed.

At 14, a determined June broke a four year old feral mare all by herself. The bond she had with “Gypsy,” was incredibly strong; the horse would allow only June to ride her, and continually threw all others off.

Ever the rule-breaker, mom used to sneak the family boat onto Kootenay lake while Jack was at work (after “forbidding her” to take the boat out on her own, citing “safety reasons”). She remembered to refill the tank and re-park the boat trailer “just so,” and while dad was none-the-wiser for quite some time about these escapades, mom always ensured the kids had fun. To mom, success really meant when everyone was content, happy, and having fun.

For the last 70 years or so, mom told people that she had a “deathly strong” allergy to parsnips – only to admit to her daughter very recently that she just simply despised the taste of them. We agreed to deem the secret to be rather genius and “creatively gracious,” so as to never be served parsnips – and the story hurt no one, anyway.

Mom cherished her family and friends, and maintained an open-door policy to all. Her homemaking skills were second to none (including slipping some zucchini into almost all baking recipes and always fooling everyone), and she stuck to her word with absolutely everything. A favorite saying of hers was, “No good woman wants to be thought of as, “simple,” and she was not one for idle time unless it was a good Brian Keith movie (she always said she’d walk a mile over broken glass to spend a half hour with him).

Her favorite place was our family summer cabin (family homestead) on the Arrow Lakes, where so many special family memories were made. After retirement, mom loved travelling all over the US and Canada with dad, and she continued her love of dancing with dad wherever they found a dance floor. She never turned down an opportunity to help someone in need, and considered herself to have an incredibly blessed life.

When we reminded mom that a pandemic was happening, her reply was always a reassuring, “Don’t worry, it’ll pass – because bad things always do.” She’d seen it first hand through WW2 and The Great Depression. As an eternal optimist, she never worried about things she couldn’t control. She followed her own rules in life, loved deeply, and lived on her own terms.

Mom didn’t “suffer” from her experience with Alzheimer’s, in fact, she rose above it, by maintaining an exceptional sense of humor and a quiet acceptance about life in general. We find solace in knowing she’s with dad again, where she most loved to be.

The family wishes to extend their sincere gratitude to all staff at Polson Care Home, and to Dr. Richard Sherwin and Dr. Lepage for their extremely high standards of personable care and integrity over the years.

(Cremation, as per her wishes, as well as a private family gathering to be held a later date.)

In lieu of flowers, those wishing to do so, may donate to the Alzheimer’s society.