Dorothy M. (Merrill) Ackerman, 94

DEERFIELD — Dorothy "Dot" M. Ackerman, 94, a resident of Deerfield and a former resident of Franklin, passed away peacefully on December 26, 2021 at High Point Hospice House in Haverhill, MA. She was born in Franklin, NH on April 19, 1927 to Charles and Mary (Clark) Merrill.

Dot was raised in Franklin and moved to New Jersey and also Montreal, Canada before returning to Franklin to raise a family. She worked for New England Telephone Company for her working life before retiring at age 60. She and her husband Richard (Dick) Ackerman traveled the United States in their motor home, spending the winters in warmer regions of the country with family and friends. She loved her family and was devoted to her children and grandchildren, but also loved dancing, gardening and good company. Dot was always up for anything. At 80 she rode on the back of her son’s Harley Sportster and at 84 she zip lined with her grandson at Alpine Adventures in Lincoln.

Dot was predeceased by her parents; her husband Richard D. Ackerman in 2004; her daughter, Mary B. Coffey in 1966; and by her son, Timothy P. Coffey in 2004. She leaves behind her son, Thomas J. Coffey Jr. and his wife Cindy of Nottingham; her two grandsons, Daniel Coffey and his wife Sarah, and Tyler Coffey and his husband Brien Bell of San Francisco, CA.; and great-grandsons, Nolan and Jamie of Hopkinton, MA.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Dot may be made to The Inn at Deerfield, a non-profit elderly dementia care facility located at 34 Ridge Rd, Deerfield, NH 03037.

A graveside service will be held on Monday, April 18, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen.

The William F. Smart Sr. Memorial Home in Tilton is assisting the family with arrangements.

For more information or to leave the family an online condolence, go to www.smartfuneralhome.com.