Obituary of Ruth C. Ackerman

Ruth C. Ackerman of Honeoye Falls, (August 22, 1929 to August 6, 2016). Survived by husband, Stewart E. Ackerman, son Lawrence ("Larry") Preston Ackerman, daughter Carol Faith Mc Coon, two grandsons (Everett (Kerri) Cooley and Dan (Meghan) Mc Coon) with their wives and two great-grandchildren, Emily and Nathan Cooley. She is predeceased by Jennifer Ruth Ackerman (in 1985). Ruth Ackerman was a woman of deep faith. Studious, hard-working; she was devoted to her family. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from College of Wooster in 1951, sharing the Biology Prize that year with another woman student. Ruth earned her Master's degree in Plant Pathology from University of Wisconsin (Madison) in a single year, working on the first virus ever discovered. She married Stewart Ackerman, also a grad student at the university and they started a family. The Ackerman home was one of industry and economy, creativity and nurture. But we also laughed and told stories, making up jokes and songs as we worked together. Mom encouraged our creativity and taught us how to learn. When the skill in school was learning German, we learned it together; Mom had a job for years at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, translating titles of Old German Script Theology books for the Library of Congress. Ruth Ackerman was first and foremost a biologist and loved teaching her kids the wonders of nature. We knew the nests of the songbirds in our yard, the song of the mourning dove and the wonder of wild things that wandered through our yard. She taught us the beauty of rare wildflowers and plants: Lady's slippers, Jack-in-the Pulpit, we kids knew their mysteries and where to find them in the woods; we grew up with an appreciation that they were not to be touched, less picked. We raised rabbits and dogs, learned the glory of that Milky Way and tried to count the stars… Ruth was the microbiologist at Wards Natural Sciences in Rochester, growing live materials for universities and researchers all over the United States. The loss of our mother is profound, deep, like losing the rudder to a ship at sea. We will steer right, for we steer by her quiet memory, her unseen hand and her ever-so-gentle being where she dwells with God, her depths of spiritual communion with all that is. She dwells in our hearts. Friends may call Thursday, August 11, 2016 from 4-7 pm at the Merton H. Kays Funeral Home, Inc. 59 Monroe St. Honeoye Falls. Funeral service Friday, 10 am at the First Presbyterian Church, N. Main St. Honeoye Falls. To light a candle or leave a condolence, please visit www.mertonkaysfuneralhome.com