Ricky Clyde Akerman, 68
ALEXANDRIA ---- Today, we regret to inform the world that our beloved Ricky Clyde Akerman is now at peace after his passing on Saturday, March 9, 2024.
Ricky was born in Plymouth, NH, to Allen Earnest Akerman on February 29, 1956. His years as a young boy were primarily spent in New Hampshire, although he was a resident of Essex just outside of Baltimore, MD, for a brief time with his mother. He would share stories of his southern lifestyle as an early adolescent, from collecting crayfish and turtles in the Bay to his sights in the heart of the city. At the age of 13, he returned to NH to remain with his father, Allen. He lived in various locations within the Lakes Region until the age of 32, when he inherited the Akerman Family Farm, the heartbeat of our family to this present day.
At 18, his career began as an employee of New Hampshire Ball Bearing (NHBB), a company specializing in the engineering of aerospace bearing technology. He was strongly dedicated to his work and excelled in his career at NHBB, earning his colleagues vast respect and loyalty. In December 2022, he retired from the company as Tool Room & Gauge Lab Supervisor at age 65, after 48 hard-working years. It is said that one person alone still hasn’t been able to fulfill his position.
Outside of his many hours of work in Laconia, he’d return to the love of his life of 26 years, Terri Lynn Akerman. Together, they cultivated hard work and cared for their children on the Akerman Family Farm. The Farm comprised of a home built in 1840 and surrounding acres filled with hardwood timber, vegetable gardens, fruit bushes, cows, pigs, chickens, and dogs, to name a few. The primary source of home heat was a wood stove; therefore, cutting, bucking up, splitting, and stacking firewood was a yearlong task, as much a necessity as a stress-relieving favorable family pastime.
Leisure as a family consisted of trips to “Camp” in Pittsburg, NH, car rides to annual county fairs, exploring the river banks in the aluminum fishing boat, walking the gravel road down to the swimming hole, and bringing us children on “wagon rides” using the old 1946 hand-crank International farm tractor; a family favorite that all of us “children” still look forward to and are happy to share with the little ones of today.
As children aged and the Farm slowed down, other, new family pastime events began to flourish. BBQs on Father’s Day; firework displays and a “boom” from the cannon on the 4th of July; and an early fall all-day road-tripping event, beginning with picking apples at the orchard, selecting our favorite meats and cheeses from the smokehouse, and filling our growlers at the alehouse to make for the finest tailgating social one could ever experience. We will sorely miss our loved ones as we continue these traditions with them in our memory.
Calling Rick an outdoorsman is an understatement. He enjoyed his time hunting, fishing, four-wheeling, snowmobiling, and, yes, the entire process of firewood. But most of all, he loved driving back country roads on Sundays with his wife, Terri.
He was a selfless, steady, honest, humble, and patient man who loved deeply and taught those around him how love works. He never gave up on anyone and was always there if you needed him, all the while telling us to “suck it up” and “it is what it is.” He dedicated his life’s work to his loved ones and homestead.
The list of loved ones he leaves behind is endless but includes his children: Richard Akerman, Brandon Akerman, Leah Ingalls, Shane Linteau, Charelle Lucas, Twila Butterworth, Harold Ingalls, and Amanda Gilbert; 14 grandchildren; and 2 great-grandchildren as well as his siblings: Patrica Stiles, Norman Boyd (deceased), Anita Blackwell, Danny Boyd, Crystal (deceased).
There will be no calling hours.
A Celebration of Life will be held at the Akerman Family Farm on Saturday, May 4, 2024 at 1:00 p.m.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services/Emmons Funeral Home, Laconia NH is assisting the family with the arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial go to wilkinsonbeane.com and EmmonsFuneralHome.com.