John Windell Acker

It is with heavy hearts from his loved ones to announce the peaceful passing of John Windell Acker, a beloved father, stepfather, grandfather, uncle, teacher, and friend.   Born on February 21, 1941, in Weston, Missouri, John was youngest of two sons (Wayne Acker, brother) born to Emerson and Edith Acker. John received his Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in Industrial Arts from Colorado State University. Being a teacher, he continued his education by taking post-graduate classes from University of Missouri at Kansas City. John worked as an Industrial Arts teacher and later a Computer Aided Design teacher for Park Hill High School for many years before retiring in 1999.   John was married first to Pam (Davis) Acker who preceded him in death, and with whom he had three daughters, Susan M. Anderson (Tim Anderson), Sandra L. Gentry (Alex Gentry), and Laura F. Litchy (Todd Litchy). John would marry his second wife, Kathleen M. Acker on May 25, 1979, where he would gain three bonus children, Danielle M. Wolfe (Jefferson Wolfe), Aaron J. Muehlebach (Tammy Muehlebach), and Nichole A. Spaw (Curtis Spaw).   John loved the outdoors and enjoyed gardening, fishing, and hunting. He shared these loves with his children and grandchildren. In addition to teaching and auditorium duties, John would spend summer breaks building decks to ensure the needs of a large family were met in addition to providing a vacation every summer, usually at the lake and with fishing. His love of teaching was felt by the family as he took every opportunity to teach his learned skills to his children and grandchildren.     John is survived by his wife of 44 years, Kathy, and all the children listed above in addition to the below grandchildren:  Amanda (Anderson) McClane (Timothy McClane); Melissa Anderson; Andrew Gentry; Samantha Gentry; Daniel Gentry; Kenny Litchy; Zachary Litchy; Nathan Litchy; Jake Wolfe; Liam Wolfe; Courtney (Muehlebach) Enderle; Kayla Muehlebach; Adam Muehlebach (Peyton Muehlebach), Hannah Doherty; Kennedy Doherty; Brooke Spaw; Paige Spaw; Wyatt Spaw; and great grandchildren: TJ McClane; Izzy McClane; Dawson Wood; Ava Enderle; Levi Enderle; Maylee Muehlebach.   Funeral services have been set for 11:00 am on Monday, July 31st, at Terrace Park Funeral Home, 801 N.W. 108th Street, Kansas City, MO 64155. Visitation, 10-11 am, prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.