Raymond B. 'Ray' Ackerman

Ray Ackerman died peacefully early in the morning on October 17, 2012. He was born in Pittsburgh, PA, on August 7, 1922, and moved to OKC in 1947 after 5 years in the U.S. Navy with last duty as a fighter pilot. Following 5 years as an advertising salesman with the Daily Oklahoman while earning a degree at night at Oklahoma City University (OCU), he joined a staff of 4 at the George W. Knox Advertising Agency, now Ackerman McQueen. Ray married Lucille Frances Flanagan of OKC in 1948 and they have 6 living children, 11 grandchildren, and 1 great grandson. In 1954 he bought the agency from Mr. Knox and over the next 16 years, built it from $250,000 to $6 million in billings. In the early 1970's, he was joined by the father-and-son team of Marvin and Angus McQueen and under their combined leadership the agency grew from handling only local accounts to serving major accounts such as the National Rifle Association, Daisy Air Rifles, Nocona Boots, Resistol Hats, Food and Wines of France, Droste Chocolates (Holland), Pizza Hut (regional), Sheraton Hotels (10 markets). When Ray retired from active leadership and became Chairman Emeritus of the agency in 1992, it was billing $92 million and is now over $200 million, the largest agency headquartered in Oklahoma and ranked in the top 2% of all U.S. agencies. Other offices besides the headquarters in OKC are in Tulsa, Dallas, Washington D.C. and Colorado Springs. Ray was President of the OKC Ad Club in 1954, received its Distinguished Service Award in 1964, and was honored with the AAF Silver Medal Award in 1982. He served as President of the Southwest Council of 4A's, as a member of the 4A's Board of Directors and its Committee on Government Relations. In 1982 he was selected by the 4A's to be the small agency member of a People-to-People delegation to lecture on advertising in 5 cities in China. In 1974-75 he served as International President of Worldwide Partners, an affiliation of ad agencies in the US and 60 international cities. On November 11, 2008, he was one of the inaugural class of 8 elected to the American Advertising Federations Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame. After 5 years of active duty in the Navy, he spent 30 more years in the Naval Reserve, rising to the rank of Rear Admiral. He commanded both a Jet Fighter Squadron and the Air Wing Staff at Dallas Naval Air Station. He served as State President and National Director of the Navy League and as National President for two years, 1969-71, of the Naval Reserve Association. In 2007, he was awarded the George Washington Medal from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge and was inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame. Ray has a long history of public service in OKC, having served as general chairman of the National Finals Rodeo for 20 years and as chairman or president of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the United Way, Allied Arts, Kirkpatrick Museum Center, St. Anthony Hospital Foundation, Better Business Bureau, Salvation Army, Science Museum of Oklahoma and Rotary Club 29. He also served on the boards of these organizations for many years, plus Red Earth, the Volunteer Center, the Oklahoma Heritage Association, the Oklahoma City Public School Foundation, Junior Achievement, Redlands Council of Girl Scouts, Urban League, Mercy Hospital, Last Frontier Council of the Boy Scouts, and Quail Creek Golf and Country Club. He led the annual fundraising drives for the Chamber, Allied Arts and the United Way, being active on the latter's drive for 59 consecutive years. For 20 plus years, Ray served on the Board of Trustees of OCU, was honored with the University's School of Business Outstanding Award in 1964, as a Distinguished Alumnus in 1991, and with an honorary PhD in Commercial Science in 1996. Ackerman is listed in "Who's Who in America". Ray was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1993 and into the Oklahoma Commerce and Industry Hall of Honor in 1998. He has been honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards from the United Way, Oklahoma City Beautiful, Leadership Oklahoma, Oklahoma City University's Hall of Honor and the National Association of Fundraising Executives. Other awards include the Pathmaker from Oklahoma City/County Historical Society, Humanitarian of the Year from Oklahoma County Arthritis Foundation, Dean A. McGee Award from Downtown OKC, and the Archbishop Beltran Community Service Award. In 2000, he was elected to the International Academy of Achievement of Sales and Marketing Executives and in 2003 was selected as a "Father of the Year" by the Oklahoma City Chapter of the American Diabetes Association. In 2004, Ray and his wife Lou were selected by the OK Health Center Foundation as Oklahoma "Living Treasures for Tomorrow." Ray served on the Board of Directors of LSB Inc from 1992 til 2011. In 1993, the Greater OKC Chamber established the Ray Ackerman Award to be given annually to the person voted as the leading volunteer in service to the Chamber. In 2004, the United Way of Central Oklahoma established the Ray Ackerman Leadership Award to be given annually for outstanding leadership. The Governor's Art Award was presented to Ray in 2000, primarily as the co-visionary of the world's longest sculpture of the Run of 1889 with 45 heroic-sized figures. Originally planned for a World's Fair in 1989, which was canceled, the idea was resurrected in 1999 for the Centennial of Statehood in 2007. The sculptures now reside along the Bricktown Canal. Ray's enthusiasm for his adopted state resulted in his authoring "Tomorrow Belongs to Oklahoma", a review of the State's exciting past and promising future. In 2003, the Oklahoma Heritage Association published his biography, "Old Man River", by Bob Burke with Joan Gilmore. The title, an honorary one that was given him by the OKC Chamber, came from the fact he was the person who got the development of the North Canadian River and a canal from it to the Myriad Gardens, through Bricktown, the most popular tourism area in the city. They are part of the nine venues in the Chamber's "Vision of a New Frontier", a plan to improve the quality of life in OKC. The mayor renamed the plan, MAPS (Metropolitan Area Projects) and in December 1993, the voters passed a 5-year 1 cent sales tax to fund it. After an 11 year effort led by Ackerman, the Legislature renamed seven miles of the river through OKC as the Oklahoma River, signed into law by the Governor on May 21, 2004. Ray was a member of St. Eugene Catholic Church, the Fortune Club, Rotary Club 29 and Quail Creek Golf & Country Club. In 2009, he received the Visionary Leadership Award from Keep Oklahoma Beautiful. On April 20, 2012 a statue of Ray in Regatta Park was dedicated to him as "Old Man River" and the visionary of the Oklahoma River and the Bricktown Canal. Ray is preceded in death by: his father, Charles Raymond Ackerman and his mother, Teresa Jane Grasinger Ackerman of Oklahoma City; his brother, David Karl Ackerman of Bethesda, MD; a sister, Catherine "Kit" Winkler and her husband William F. of Oklahoma City; and a daughter, Beth Ackerman. Ray is survived by his wife of 64 years, Lucille "Lou" Frances Flanagan Ackerman of the home; daughter and husband Patricia Ann and Mike Mehring of Redmond, WA and grandson Jason Conley and wife Jennifer and great grandson Trent Conley of Bradenton, FL; daughter and husband Ann Carol and Ron Adams and granddaughter Elizabeth Veronica "Evie" Adams of Dallas, TX; son Rev. Ray K. Ackerman of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City; daughter and husband Susan Marie and Douglas Fuller and grandchildren Alexander Douglas and Alyssa Marie "Lissy" Fuller of Oklahoma City; son and wife Mark and Deanna Ackerman and grandchildren Raymond Bryan and Samantha Riley Ackerman of Oklahoma City; daughter Amy Lou Ackerman Shaver and grandchildren Sophie Elizabeth, Lucy Bernadette, Henry Maximilian, Annie Clare and Lily Therese Shaver of Oklahoma City; sister, Mary Frances Veeck, Chicago; sister-in-law Marjorie Ackerman, Bethesda, MD; and numerous nieces and nephews. On June 14, 2012, Ray and Lou celebrated 64 glorious years of marriage and this is her message to him as they separate temporarily before their reunion in heaven: Dear Husband and Father, Next August 7th, you would be 91 yet, with your dignity intact, you are now gone. I am glad for you and the promise of what lies ahead, although I will miss you every day - the heartbeat under your necktie, the hand cupped on the back of my neck, shaving lotion in the air, your voice delighted with stories. On your birthday each year you loved to relate that at the moment of your birth your mother glanced out the window and saw flowers in bloom. Well, today flowers are blooming all over Oklahoma, still welcoming you. Your loving wife, Lou A Prayer Vigil for the deceased will be held Sunday evening, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. at St. Eugene Catholic Church, 2400 W. Hefner Road, Oklahoma City, OK 73120. The following Monday morning, October 22, 2012 a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. also at St. Eugene. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are suggested for the new Church at St. Eugene or the United Way of Metro Oklahoma.