Gib Ackerman

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Roy Gilbert (Gib) Ackerman

B. January 20, 1909 - Bridgman, Michigan

M. November 22, 1930 - Lillian A. Larsen - Michigan City, Indiana

D. October 14, 1971 - St. Joseph, Michigan (Memorial Hospital)

Buried - Riverside Cemetery - Three Oaks, Michigan

Roy Gilbert Ackerman was born on January 20, 1909, to Elda Pearl Lambert and Walter Bridgman Ackerman in Bridgman, Michigan. Roy went by "Gib" most of his life. He signed his name "R. G. Ackerman" and never went by Roy. Grandma used to say that is how they knew if someone knew Grandpa when they received a phone call, if they asked for Roy, it was a solicitation or bill collector. Grandpa's parents lived just east of his grandparents (Frank and Sarah Ackerman) in Bridgman (See Walter's House for more including hand drawn map).

Grandpa spent most of his time at his grandparents' home when he was younger because Walter had a small house and Grandpa loved spending time with his grandparents. There are several photos of Grandpa on Frank's farm below in the slideshow (Check Frank's House also). Grandpa has been described with many different adjectives, but they all translate to he was quite a character, fun-loving and a bit mischievous. Even as he aged, Grandpa always had that twinkle in his eye.

There were three close friends who all have been described as his "best friend" during his teenage years and early 20s:

Bill Backus, his neighbor in Bridgman and the one who he set up with his older sister Georgia Marie (Mary) - they married. Grandpa and Bill learned carpentry from Bill's father, Heinrich (Henry) Backus, and helped him build Frank Ackerman's house in 1923. That was just one of at least three houses Grandpa built, the other two are his Harbert Home and his Sawyer Home. Grandpa also helped Dad (Bud Christopher) and others remodel or repair their homes. Henry and Bill Backus were fine furniture makers, another skill Grandpa learned from Henry. Grandpa made the table with the spindle legs that I have in my house and is in the slideshow below, and on his Sawyer House page (slides #22 & 38).

Dale (Duke) Hall, the one Mom is named after. Grandma Ackerman often spoke highly of Duke, both Gib and Lil were friends with him. Duke dated Aunt Sal for a while and is mentioned in letters Grandma wrote to Grandpa many times. Duke sent Grandpa a postcard from England in August 1929 that Grandpa kept and I have - click here to read it. Grandpa loved to swim and hang out with Duke at the beach. Sadly, Duke drowned in a swimming accident while on his honeymoon in 1938. Mom's middle name was in honor of Duke (Dale).

Chuck Scovern, Uncle Chuck who married Aunt Sal. I believe Sal met Chuck through Grandpa. Chuck and Grandpa went to school together in Bridgman (see photo in slideshow). We have photos of Grandpa and Chuck at Nana's while they were dating Grandma and Sal in 1929-30. They worked together during the early 1930s selling candy out of their cars, boating Chicagoans across the Lake, and at Billings Hospital in Chicago. There is a photo of Grandpa in his apron at work in the Hospital lab, and a photo of the Hospital at that time in the slideshow below. Also, there is a postcard Grandma wrote upon that Grandpa had from one of the trips to Waterloo, Iowa, when he was traveling the Midwest selling candy that him and Chuck made during the Great Depression.

Grandpa loved cars, he likely picked up that love from his grandfather. You will note that several of his childhood and young adult photos are taken in front of cars in the slideshow below. There are a few of him as an adult in front of cars also, including a photo of him leaning on his grandfather's car at Nana's (Rose Larsen's) when he visited Lillian in 1930. One of his favorites, according to Aunt Patty, was his 1949 Buick Roadmaster which he pulled the trailer he bought in 1952. Aunt Patty loves cars also, often going to car shows, so it was passed down. Mom, not so much, she liked driving, but really didn't pay much attention to the details.

Somewhere in Grandpa's late-teens or early-20s he got his forearms tattooed. I am sure we all remember Grandpa's tattoos with anchors. He told me more than once that I should never get a tattoo because he regretted getting his. He said it was a foolish impulsive thing he did with a couple friends.

As Aunt Neve told her daughter Jill, 'there wasn't much to do in Bridgman in those days but drink' (that is why Vic and her moved their family to Southeast Michigan). Grandpa wasn't a drinker either, so he tried to find other ways to entertain himself. As mentioned above, he loved to go to the beach. He also enjoyed cruising in his grandfather's car. He went to Grange Hall dances, like most teenagers and adults in those days. He also worked for his dad drilling wells.

Frank Ackerman started a well and pump business around 1925 (see the photo of his rig in Frank's House page). His son, Grandpa's father, Walter, was also in the well and pump business. Grandpa worked as a well and pump man for many years, also doing work as a carpenter while he learned electrical skills. During the Great Depression, work was hard to come by and Grandpa did many jobs. In the 1930 Census, he is listed as a printer in the newspaper industry. He obtained his boating pilot license on July 31, 1930, and he joined the Boy Scouts as a "mate" for the Sea Scouts on April 30, 1931. Grandpa and Uncle Chuck worked for a boating service ferrying Chicagoans across the Lake to their cottages and homes in Southwest Michigan in the early 1930s. As mentioned above, Grandpa and Uncle Chuck also drove around the Midwest (Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa), selling homemade candy from their car. We have a postcard from General Grant's home in Galena, Illinois, in which Grandma Ackerman wrote on the back that "Gib, Chuck and Chris stopped on their way from Waterloo Iowa to see General Grant's Home. Summer of 1931 - August"

Grandpa dated Grandma Ackerman for much of 1930, they married on November 22, 1930, in Michigan City, Indiana. Grandma lived with Uncle Norm in the Roseland neighborhood in Chicago at 21 W. 110th Street. This was only a few blocks from the main shopping district in South Chicago where Grandma was looking for work. We still have some of the letters Grandma wrote to "Gib" in 1930 (March 19, October 5, October 9 and November 9). It is interesting that she simply addressed the envelopes "Mr. Gilbert Ackerman, Bridgman, Michigan" and that is all she needed for an address at that time. It cost 2¢ to post a letter in 1930. Grandma called Grandpa "Gib" or "Gibber." He called her "Tootie Tweety" in cards and letters, or just "Lil." As with many couples, later they called each other "Mom" and "Dad."

Grandpa served in the National Guard, see photos below in slideshow. He served in 1933 shortly after he married Grandma. He was only active for a couple of years. I think he left the Guard when Patty was born in 1937. His World War II Registration Card lists him as 5'11", 165 lbs, gray eyes, brown hair and light brown complexion with a tattoo on each forearm. He filled out the card on October 15, 1940. The front reads Harbert, Michigan and his employer is Fred P. Warren of Lakeside. For some reason Grandpa, Lil, Nana, Patty and Mom are not found in the 1940 census - the rest of the censuses are below (1910-1950). I suspect the census taker missed them, and never went back. Grandpa was still living next to Nana in 1940, perhaps they were in Florida?

Grandpa helped raise two daughters, Patty and Karen. Both Mom and Patty loved their dad and said he could be a lot of fun. He taught them to be independent women and how to swim, drive and shoot a rifle, among many things. He loved the beach and, of course, traveling. Grandpa was very affable and would carry on a conversation with anyone. He was a dreamer who liked to read and learn about other places and people. Grandpa enjoyed going to the movies and later watching TV. His preferred genres were westerns and war movies. His favorite TV series was Gunsmoke. His favorite movie actor was Humphrey Bogart. I remember Grandpa taking me to see "Tora, Tora, Tora" in 1970 at Vickers Theater in Three Oaks, I think, it was a local theater. Mom and Patty said he took them to a lot of western and war movies.

In 1952, he made a big decision to sell his home he built in Harbert and buy a travel trailer, a 1952 Royal Spartanette 35' Trailer, and move to Florida. It was hard on him finding work in the well and pump business, carpentry and electrical work in the winter months. They had gone to Florida a few times earlier for the winter, 1949-50 being the last before moving down there in 1952. He moved his family from trailer park to trailer park wherever he found work. Some jobs would last several months and some just a few weeks. Grandpa moved his family to Texas in 1952 to work in the Dallas/Fort Worth area near Aunt Sal and Uncle Chuck. Later, he took them to San Diego but didn't like Southern California and turned around and went back to Texas within a few days. He worked in Corpus Christi for the rest of the winter and in the Spring of 1952 Gib moved his family back to Harbert. They lived with Nana parking their trailer in her yard. He sold the trailer in August 1953 (see newspaper ad below). Also see the photos on Spartanette Trailer Page to see what the trailer looked like inside.

Grandpa kept going South for the winter and renting places in Harbert in the spring and summer for the next several years. Mom (Karen) married in the fall of 1954. That fall him, Grandma, Nana and Patty headed back to Florida for the winter. Grandpa had bought another trailer, this one was peach and white (see pictures in the slideshow below). Patty was very lonely without Mom and was in a very small high school in Del Ray Beach, Florida. She convinced Grandpa to come back to Michigan so she could graduate from New Troy with her friends. She married Uncle Ted Branson on September 7, 1955. The following years Grandpa and Grandma moved between Florida, Texas and Harbert. Grandpa even lived in South Bend for a few months working on a project.

In 1962-63, he built his last home on Tower Hill Road in Sawyer, Michigan (see Gib's House Sawyer Page). Over the next nine years, he would add a garage, breezeway and eventually a family room. Him and Grandma still often went South for the winters, but he always had his ranch-style home to return to. When they went to Florida, they would visit Nana and Uncle Norm. In Texas, they would stay with or visit the Scoverns (Sal and Chuck). Grandpa made a close friend with his neighbor Tony Jordan. The Jordans and Grandpa and Grandma even traveled together to Florida one winter. See the slideshow coming in the future at Travels with Gib and Lil page.

Grandpa worked many jobs over his lifetime, but mostly carpentry and electrical work. He was a "master" electrician and carpenter. He worked building the Hemisphere Tower/Tower of the Americas (1967) in San Antonio, Texas, and the Cook Nuclear Center (1969-71) in Bridgman, Michigan, before they opened.

Grandpa was close to his sisters, Neve and Mary (Marie) - see photo below. We still have two letters he wrote to Neve: letter to Neve - December 8, 1968 - letter to Neve - July 10, 1970 - Thanks to Neve's daughter, Jill Cross, for sending those to me and sharing many more photos, information and stories about Grandpa.

Grandpa was a Mason (often called the Freemasons). I have the Mason ring he wore and the Mason symbol is on his gravestone (I believe they helped pay for the funeral and gravestone). There isn't a lot of history to this part of Grandpa's life. Mom said he was mainly in the fraternity for business networking reasons, but there is some evidence that it meant more to him. The Masons go way back to the Middle Ages as a fraternity of skilled builders. There is some suggestion that is Grandpa's connection. The Masons however were more than just a craft association or union. According to many scholars, the "freemasons are a social and philanthropic organization meant to make its members lead more virtuous and socially oriented lives." They have their own lodges and ceremonies, most of them secret including handshakes. Grandpa used to go to the meetings at the lodge but Mom didn't remember him ever talking about it. It is not a religion, although the Catholic Church treats it as such and forbids membership. Many famous Americans were Masons/Freemasons: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Davy Crockett, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Gerald Ford, Henry Ford, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole and more.

Grandpa wore one other ring much more often, his "A" ring. I have photos of both rings below, or click here to view now. He was very proud of his hertiage and his Ackerman name. Grandpa's 9th Great Grandfather David L. Ackerman and his son Lodewyck Ackerman immigrated to the United States from Berlicum, Netherlands in @1661. He wore the "A" ring on his left pinky and if you look closely in some of the photos below you will see it on his hand.

Grandpa had eight grandchildren who all loved him very much, and he loved us. He was great fun to be around. I remember he would tell us stories about his life, or something he read in Reader's Digest. He wanted to try new things and experiment. Once, we filled a garbage bag with hot air to it to see how far it would float, he had tied a note to the miniature basket he made for it. He was actually called by someone in Coloma, I think it was, who found the note. He took us to the beach, Warren Dunes State Park, and we would climb "Old Baldy," (the big sand dune there).

Grandpa loved the water and he bought a boat that he named "Alexandria" after Grandma in 1963. He would take the boat out on the St. Joseph River and occasionally on the Lake when it was calm. He like boating and enjoyed taking others with him. The last time was with Dayle and Bernie on the St. Joseph River when he hit a log and puncture the boat. He remained calm as the boat slowly sank and they were rescued. He was able to recover the boat and sold it shortly thereafter.

One funny story comes to mind of the many times Jimmy and I would stay with Grandpa and Grandma on weekends, or in the summer. We were working on one of Grandpa's projects, might have been the hot air balloon one, and Jimmy got into with Grandpa and said he was going to walk back home to St. Joseph (20 miles away). Jimmy took off down the road and Grandpa didn't notice. Grandma came driving up Tower Hill Road and saw Jimmy walking down the road and said "that boy looks like Jimmy." She was so mad at Grandpa for letting him take off like that, however, Grandpa did not suffer fools, as they say. Mom used to tell me that he didn't have a lot of patience for what he called 'foolishness.' Her and Patty used to be bored a lot on their travels, and when she would complain to him he would tell them to write a letter to their friends, or go out and make some new ones.

Grandpa loved to eat. His favorite foods were meat and potatoes, and pie. Luckily, Grandma was a great cook and quite patient with him. He insisted on real butter and real mashed potatoes. If Grandma ever tried to serve him margarine, or oleo as they called it then, he would call it goose grease. His bread had to be wheat, you may remember he would smoosh up the white bread that we kids liked into a ball and say this is what it is like in your stomach. On Sundays when I was there, we often had pancakes, either for breakfast or dinner. Most of all, he loved pie, any pie. but Grandma's delicious apple pie that Mom writes about in her Reflections book was his favorite. He liked it ala mode (with ice cream). Mom and Grandma used to tell me how he embarrassed them at times because it wasn't uncommon for him to ask "got any pie or ice cream" when he would visit friends and neighbors and they would ask if they could get him anything.

Grandpa died on October 14, 1971, after suffering a major heart attack while working at the Cook Nuclear Center in Bridgman, Michigan. Sadly, he wasn't feeling well for a few days beforehand and Grandma tried to convince him to not go to work on the 13th when he suffered the heart attack. He had already decided to retire but told her he wanted to put in one more day's work. He is buried at Riverside Cemetery in Three Oaks.

Slideshow of Grandpa (74 Photos)