Roy Gene Ackley

Born on July 20th., 1949 at Pontiac General hospital in Pontiac, Michigan, to the late Harold and Ethel (Young) Ackley.

He grew up in Walled Lake, Michigan, a small community where his father dedicated himself in laying the foundation of its infrastructure. Alongside him were his three sisters, Dorothy Elaine (Ron) Brown, Wilma Josephine (Bob) Elkins and Linda Sue (Gary) Bates.

There, during his youth, he served as a cub and boy scout, ran a pizza shop, and picked up any side job to make an extra buck. He made a name for himself while attending Walled Lake H.S. Once, he took an opportunity to ride his motorcycle straight through the school, while one kid held the door open at one end and another at the other, while never getting caught. All the while his mother was the head cook for the cafeteria and his sister who was valedictorian.

With that rebel soul, he went on to work for, Pontiac General Motors, UAW local 653 and held the position of committee chairman for over 25 years. This is where he met his “darlin” wife of 52 years, Vi (Beal) Ackley.

He always held onto the memories of his shop days and lived to tell the stories, laughing all the while. He was a true wordsmith, always having a clever one-liner comedy skit.

He and Vi, shared a blended family of four children, Geri (Frank) Olechowski, Debra (Bill) Luke, Jimmy (Sheri) Walters and the late, Sherry (Jose) Camargo.

After retirement he became, “Roy the builder”.

He built a beautiful cabin in Mikado, MI that served to host many family and friends. Card nights were frequent and the annual deer hunting season was made tradition. He had a passion for rebuilding classic cars, collecting antiques, traveling and helping others with their projects.

Rebuilt from rusted parts was his prized, Ford Model A truck that ran in the local parade.

Owning homes in Florida, Georgia and Michigan always kept him busy. In Georgia he served as the president of their homeowners association, never loosing his strategic thinking ability and operational awareness.

An acclaimed grandfather who carried the name Poppey to, Amanda, Timothy, Jessica, Jenna, Nicole, Glenn and the late, Shane, Amy and Josh.

Great grandfather to, Angelica, Scott, Justin, Jacob, James, Jamie, Journey and Ayanna.

His ability to keep all of his family updated about each other will be forever missed.

Roger, 10-4.