Allen Ackerman

Kenmare, ND, passed

away on Friday, January

17, 2020, in a Minot hos-

pital.

Allen Curtis Ackerman

was born on October 7,

1949, a son of Maurice

and Adeline (Mortensen)

Ackerman, in Kenmare

ND. He was raised and at-

tended school in Kenmare

and, as a teenager, went to

work for his dad doing

surveying for

Burke-Divide, Renville,

and Mountrail Counties.

He also worked for Geiger

Motor and Oil.

On April 24, 1971, he

married LaDon Anderson.

Out of this union two

children were born,

Tawnya and Chad. The

couple divorced in 1986,

but they remained cordial

and would celebrate holi-

days and special occa-

sions together in order to

spend equal time with

their children and grand-

children.

Allen began his career

with the North Dakota

Department of Transpor-

tation in 1972. He took

pride in his job and

worked tirelessly to help

keep the roadways safe.

On several occasions dur-

ing his years of service, he

was awarded District

Champion at the NDDOT

Snowfighters “Road”eo.

He was always willing to

help out across the state

when needed for disaster

response. He assisted with

blowing snow for the DOT

after several significant

snow events in the state.

He also assisted with the

Grand Forks flood of

1997, and he received ap-

preciation and recognition

from FEMA for his exem-

plary work in support of

disaster response and

recovery operations. On

his days off, he would as-

sist his brother, Rolly, in

the early years of Acker-

man Surveying. In later

years, he helped local

farmers from spring’s

work to harvest on his

days off from the DOT. He

retired from the North

Dakota Department of

Transportation in No-

vember of 2015.

In his younger years,

Allen enjoyed helping his

brother-in-law, LeRoy

Kuglin, with racing. He

also enjoyed driving in

demolition derbies with

(and sometimes against)

his brother-in-laws, Gay-

len & Daren Anderson. Al-

len was a simple, blue je-

ans and t-shirt kind of

man. He was independent

and did what he wanted

to do when he wanted to

do it. He never worried

about trying to “keep up

with the Jones'” and just

did his own thing. He

loved to tinker on older

vehicles, pontoons or

whatever he could find

for his next project. After

significant encouragement

from his children, he pur-

chased his first new vehi-

cle at the age of 69. He

also loved listening to

classic rock music. The

louder the music, the

better. Whether he knew

the words or made them

up, he loved jamming to

the tunes. On occasion,

his love for the classics

shook the heads of his

loved ones, but always

made for a good laugh.

Each year he looked for-

ward to the deer hunting

season with the Ackerman

crew and participating in

their annual “sausage

fest.”

His favorite place to be

was at the Mouse River

Park, where he spent most

of his time from spring to

late fall. He spent many

years as a board member

on the Mouse River Park

Association, helping with

the kids’ games and other

events that were held. He

always enjoyed spending

time with his children

and grandchildren, but he

especially enjoyed when

they would visit him at

the park. He could then

give them pontoon rides

and go fishing, even when

the big catch of the day

was bullheads and turtles.

Those who have been

blessed to share in his

life:

Children: Tawnya (Jer-

ry) Nelson, Chad “Turk”

(Kaylee) Ackerman;

Grandchildren: Ashley,

Tyler & Kaydee Nelson,

Alexius Albertson, Mylee

& Aiden Ackerman; broth-

er: Rolly (Vicki) Acker-

man; and his sister: Adele

(Fran) Floryancic; mother

of his children: LaDon

Ackerman; brother-in-law;

Gaylen (Kemie) Anderson;

sister-in-laws; Deb (Jerry)

Mahoney & Rhonda (Bob)

Johnson; Cliff and Nancy

Longre; numerous nieces,

nephews, aunts, uncles,

family and friends.

Allen was preceded in

death by his parents, Ade-

line and Maurice Acker-

man; in-laws Gladys &

LaVere Anderson; broth-

ers- in-law, LeRoy Kuglin

& Daren Anderson;

numerous aunts, uncles

and family.

Visitation: Thursday,

January 23, 2020, 3-5 p.m.

at Thompson Larson Fun-

eral Home, Kenmare ND.

Liturgy of the word:

Friday, January 24, 2020,

10:30 a.m. at St Agnes

Catholic Church, Ken-

mare ND.

Burial: Friday, January

24, 2020, at St Agnes

Catholic Cemetery follow-ing the service,

www.thompsonlarson.

com