Charles Baily Akerson

AKERSON, Charles Baily MAI, CRE An internationally renowned real estate appraiser, counselor, teacher and author, died April 23, at the age of 86. Akerson, of Weston, Massachusetts and formerly a longtime resident of Boston, was the 1978 President of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers (AIREA), the predecessor organization to the Appraisal Institute. Considered the father of modern appraisal theory, his work touched the lives of virtually every professional real estate appraiser in the country and many more throughout the world. Mr. Akerson started in the real estate business in 1947 after serving as a U.S. Naval Officer in World War II and graduating from Tufts University with a degree in education. The wide scope of his work included brokerage, management, construction and valuation. He was a prolific author. His legacy includes authoring the books Capitalization Theory and Techniques Study Guide, The Appraiser's Workbook and An Introduction to Mortgage-Equity Capitalization. He won the 1972 George L. Schmutz Memorial Award (for his development of appraisal nomograms and the ground-breaking 1970 article, "Ellwood without Algebra") and numerous other professional awards. Mr. Akerson was the first chairman of the Appraisal Standards Board of The Appraisal Foundation in 1989, and President of Unión Panamericana de Asociaciones de Valuación (UPAV) from 1996 to 1998. Mr. Akerson is survived by his wife, Jean Grindley Akerson, his daughters Mary Akerson (Cohen) of Cambridge and Carol Akerson (Kelly) of Boston, his grandchildren Laura Blake Cohen, Jared Baily Cohen, Anya Ballard Cohen, and his sons-in-law Steven A. Cohen and Richard R. Kelly. A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, June 21, at 5:00 p.m., at the Old North Church, 193 Salem Street, Boston, Mass.