Dr. Dean Acker
Dr. R. Dean Acker, 91, Eastern Kentucky University Professor Emeritus passed away Monday, October 28, 2024.
Surviving are his wife Margaret (Maggie) Taylor Griffith Acker, son Ron Acker, Richmond, Daughter Dr. Beverly Acker Lense (Dr. Jorge) Orlando, FL and stepson Jeff Griffith (Tara) Bowling Green, KY. Also surviving are grandchildren Rachel, Noah, Nick, Delaney, Katherine, Max, Ashley and Illya Lense and Owen Griffith.
Other Survivors one brother, Roger Acker, Staten Island, NY and a sister, Genean Clark, Wooster, OH.
He was born July 20, 1933 in Ashland County, Ohio to Clyde and Mabel Acker who preceded him in death as did his first wife, Ruth Ligon Acker and two brothers, Duane Acker and Ted Acker.
Dr. Acker held a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Wooster College, Ohio and a Master’s and Doctorate degrees in educational administration from the University of Florida.
He served in the U.S. Army from 1956-1958 and he taught in high schools in Fort Smith, Arkansas and Bradford County, Florida before coming to EKU in 1963. He was a popular professor and administrator at EKU for 37 years before retiring in 2000.
Dr. Acker is Past President of the Richmond Rotary Club, Past President of the Richmond Little League, Past President of the Kentucky Higher Education Association and former Deacon in the First Presbyterian Church.
He took great Pride in the accomplishments of his wives, children, grandchildren, siblings and other family members.
Dean had a zest for life and enjoyed a great number of interests including the theatre, movies, sports, humor, trivia, reading and writing.
He was an inveterate reader of newspapers and magazines, and he had more than five hundred sports-related articles and columns published in several newspapers- starting when he was in high school in Ohio. He covered Little League baseball for the Richmond Register in the 1970’s.
Following his retirement, he became an avid bowler, participating in numerous leagues at Galaxy and in several local and state tournaments.
Dean was a strong advocate for the sport of bowling. He wrote a weekly bowling column for The Register for 8 years to recognize the accomplishments of local Bowlers and to increase interest in bowling. He organized senior bowling tournaments and lobbied successfully for the return of bowling to the Bluegrass State Games.
His efforts as an ambassador for bowling culminated in his induction into the Kentucky Bowling Hall of Fame in 2015 “for outstanding contributions to the sport of bowling in Kentucky.”