Michael Bruce “Mickey” Ackerman at 76, of Boston, MA and Denver, CO died peacefully on November 19, 2021. He was born on July 5, 1945, and grew up in Milwaukee, WI. Mickey was predeceased by his parents, Dr. Eugene J. and Edythe Ackerman, his older brother, Robert F. Ackerman, and his younger sister, Judy L. Lombard. Mickey is survived by his son Jeff and daughter-in-law Abby, grandchildren Peter, Alexander, and Ellie, two nephews and five great nieces and nephews.
Mickey was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI where he attended Milwaukee Country Day from kindergarten through his senior year, considered one of the “Old Guard”. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which he cherished throughout his life. After college, he moved to Denver where he was a consultant in the life insurance business. But Mickey will be remembered more for how he conducted business and the deep relationships he built and maintained over the years. He was an inspiration and trusted counsel to many clients and professionals throughout the country. In his free time, he volunteered at Children’s Hospital Colorado where he met with families to ease the stress of coming to the hospital.
Mickey was intellectually curious, a lifelong learner, and surrounded himself with books, film, art, and music. He was a voracious reader of nonfiction literature and often sent his visitors home with a book from his extensive collection. He could often be found roaming the stacks at the historic Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver and was once featured in the Wall Street Journal with his favorite book recommendations. Long before technology, he was legendary for mailing friends newspaper or magazine clippings on a topic he knew would interest them. Mickey also loved movies, across all genres, but particularly independent film. He made a point of seeing, and giving his strong opinion on, every nominated and award-winning film. The art enthusiast in him would seek out a museum or art exhibit in every city he visited. His love of music ranged from jazz to rock and roll to opera, and he knew nearly every word to every song. He was engaging, funny, thoughtful, interested in others, and often broke out into song in the middle of one of his fascinating stories.
Sports were Mickey's other passion. He was an avid runner, cyclist, tennis player and encyclopedia of sports trivia. He was the quarterback of his high school football team and often reminded everyone of this fact while watching NFL games. As a lifelong fan of the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos, and college hockey, he had a different team hat or sweatshirt for every day of the year. Mickey’s favorite in-person sporting moments were with his son, Jeff, seeing the Broncos win the Super Bowl in 1998 and 1999 and being at the finals of Wimbledon on his 60th birthday.
Being a dad and grandparent was Mickey’s favorite job. His devotion to his son was unmatched. He was a single parent for much of the time and was ever-present, always engaged, reliable, and very loving. He forged lifelong relationships with his son’s friends and was often available to listen or provide a piece of wisdom to them. When it came to his grandchildren, "Papa" was always up for an activity be it a sporting event, a school play, a movie, a backyard game of touch football, or trip to a museum. He was the biggest and loudest fan on the sidelines of their games, matches, and races and took every opportunity to create lifelong memories with them. His big hugs were plentiful. He will always be a light in their life.
A celebration of Mickey's life will be held at later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Lewy Body Dementia Association (lbda.org)