Gilford-----diane jayne ackerman, 67, of Gilford, peacefully passed away on Sunday, March 23, 2014 after a long fight with pancreatic cancer.
diane was born in Winchester, Mass on November 29, 1946, the oldest of three children of Roland and Jayne (Schultz) Nault. She was predeceased by her parents and sister, Ruth Ann. She graduated from Winchester High School in 1964 and grew up at Camp Mount Pero, Plymouth, N.H. and the family camp in Moultonboro, N.H.
diane attended Rivier College in Nashua, N.H. She married Richard D. Ackerman, her husband of forty-seven years and has a daughter, Heidi Kephart, and two grandsons, Jason and Ryan, all of Gilford. She was a lifelong bookkeeper and office administrator for a number of local businesses, having happily worked for the Ames Family of the Half Moon at Weirs Beach for the many years.
diane had a passion for the outdoors and the arts. She was a saxophone player with the Gilford Community Band from 1984-2013 and enjoyed entertaining people with her oldies rock and roll band, Rough Edges, for fifteen years. She was an avid fiber artist, spinning yarn, knitting and weaving. A country girl at heart, she enjoyed the quiet times tent camping and hiking at the ocean in down-east Maine and in the mountains of New Hampshire.
diane is survived by her husband, Richard Ackerman, a daughter, Heidi Kephart, and two grandsons, Jason and Ryan, all of Gilford and her brother, Roland “Jack” Nault, and sister-in-law, Lauren Towa, of Culver City, California as well as numerous Nault family members in Manchester.
There will be no calling hours.
A Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2014 at 11:00 AM at the Gilford Community Church, 19 Potter Hill Road, Gilford, N.H. Rev. Michael Graham Pastor of the church will officiate.
Burial will be later in the spring at the Raymond C. Wixson Memorial Garden, 19 Potter Hill Road, Gilford, N.H.
For those who wish, In lieu of flowers the family suggests that memorial donations be made to the Gilford Community Band Music Fund c/o Lyvie P. Beyrent, Gilford High School, 88 Alvah Wilson Road, Gilford, N.H. 03249 or to the Gilford Community Church, 19 Potter Hill Road, Gilford, NH 03249.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, N.H. is assisting the family with the arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, go to www.wilkinsonbeane.com.