Jeanne Vermilyea Ackerman died on June 16, 2008 at age 80 after a brief illness of vasculitus and kidney failure.  A strong and vibrant woman, her husband of 56 years called her “Super Woman”.  There was nothing she couldn’t do if she set her mind to it.  Until February of this year, she continued to downhill and cross country ski, sailboard, swim laps regularly, sail and coach Special Olympics. 

            Born in 1927 in Troy, New York, she graduated from Russell Sage College.  After meeting Ben, a young Navy Officer, they married at the Naval Chapel in Philadelphia shortly before Ben shipped out to the Korean War.  During their early married years, they resided in Japan, Norfolk and Alexandria, VA, and Endicott, NY before settling in Montgomery County, Maryland where they resided in Bethesda and Rockville for 49 years.

            After raising her three children, Bruce of Boise, Idaho, Bonnie Lanton of West Hurley, NY and Laura Kennedy of Rixeyville, VA, Jeanne returned to college in the early 1970s to complete her Master’s degree at George Washington University in Adaptive Physical Education.  She taught in the Montgomery County Schools for 22 years as a special education PE teacher at Carl Sandburg Elementary School and Mark Twain High School and taught at the Lathrop Smith Environmental Center.  Education was a strong value for Jeanne and she ensured that her children and grandchildren completed college.

            After retiring, she devoted her energies to volunteering and her many hobbies.  Jeanne was an avid skier.  She and Ben took yearly trips to ski throughout the country and in Europe with friends and family.  They sailed together for many years in races, regattas and with the Special Olympics.  Swimming was her lifetime passion.  For years she performed and competed in synchronized swimming, competing at the Masters Level, and coaching several top teams.  She also swam for fitness at the local pools throughout her life.

            Jeanne could sew anything.  She sewed all her and her children’s clothes and taught her daughters to do the same.  Her dresses often included beautiful embroidery and smocking.  She sewed costumes for Halloween and synchronized swimming teams.  In her later years, she sewed anything from sailboat sails, stuffed animals, doll clothes and camping equipment to jackets for her Special Olympic teams.  She was also an accomplished knitter and created many beautiful sweaters as well as matching Christmas stockings for the family.

            Jeanne was a supporter of nature and conservation.  She enjoyed bird watching, backpacking with Bruce, hiking and looking for spring’s first wild flowers.  She felt strongly about conservation issues and protecting the watersheds.

            Jeanne was voted Coach of the Year and in April 2008, Jeanne was awarded with an Inspiration Award from the Montgomery County Special Olympics.  Awarded for untold hours of volunteer time and generosity she received, with Ben, this surprise tribute.  It culminated Jeanne’s forty-five year commitment to the organization beginning with the very first Special Olympics summer camp created by the founder, Eunice Kennedy Shriver in 1963.  Her devotion expanded to include her grandson, Eric, and his Special Olympics ventures as well.

            Ben and Jeanne spent many happy years at Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland.  When the family was young, they camped every summer at the state park in an old canvas army tent.  In the 1970s they bought a cabin and spent many weeks there over thirty years sailing, kayaking and sail boarding in the summer and skiing in the winter.  It was a beautiful lake and they both loved the mountains, the moss draped waterfalls, the wintry views and the cool relief from the summer heat at home.

The memorial service will be private at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (www.cbf.org) one of Jeanne’s favorite causes.   She has also requested that friends and family make donations to their local blood bank as she benefited from their services in her final days.

            Jeanne is remembered with words such as remarkable, inspirational, generous, forward thinking and strong.  Her spirit will live on in our memories and in all those whose lives she touched throughout her lifetime.