Carmela Ackman

Carmela Ackman, born Carmela Suckow in 1934, died peacefully on Mother's Day, May 10 at NYU Hospital, surrounded appropriately by children and grandchildren. To her final days, Carmela remained combative, interested, lucid and even funny.

Carmela's family was from Riga, Latvia. Recognizing the growing menace of Nazi Germany, her family escaped to the United States in 1936, making it out with the help of Carmela's uncle Sidney Hillman, an important labor leader of the day. They settled in the Bronx and struggled at first as many refugee families do.

Eventually, Carmela graduated from City College and became a teacher in the New York City public schools before leaving to raise her two sons. In 1972 she entered Brooklyn Law School. While her husband and brother were both lawyers, a women attempting admission to the bar was rare at that time. Upon graduation, Carmela had a long career as a lawyer, first at the Emergency Financial Control Board, then with the NYC Corporation Counsel, and ultimately in private practice.

Throughout her life Carmela was a fierce advocate for and defender of the rights of others. She was at the March on Washington with Martin Luther King, she walked the picket line in the first NYC teachers strike, and she was a long-time supporter of many organizations, including Planned Parenthood. She had a wide circle of devoted friends who visited her homes on Fire Island and in East Hampton, where her excellence as a chef was as much of a draw as the beach. Most important was family; she was a constant for support and counsel to her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Carmela was predeceased by her husband, Milton Ackman. She is survived by two sons, David, a doctor married to Julie Dorsey, and Daniel also a lawyer, married to Laura Katzive, and six grandchildren.

A Memorial Service will be held at Riverside Memorial Chapel, 180 W 76th St, New York, New York 10023, on May 15, 2026, at 2:00 pm.