Acker, Ernest D. (Ernest Daniel), 1913-1983
Dates
- Existence: 1913 - 1983
Biography
Ernest D. Acker was the youngest of three sons born to Martha Bowman Sellers and David Clarence Acker on October 19, 1913 in Rockingham County, Virginia.
In 1939, with only a high school education, Acker established a walnut buying and processing business that in its first year did an estimated $100,000.00 in transactions.
Acker volunteered for military service in August of 1943. He was shipped overseas on October 1, 1944 and eventually saw action at Iwo Jima in February of 1945. The pressures of war and a failing business at home led to a mental breakdown and subsequently to a discharge for Acker on October 6, 1945.
When Acker returned home he began to rebuild his floundering business, and by the early fifties his company was doing as much as a half million dollars in business in good seasons. But then he began to have health and financial problems and was forced to sell his business at a loss. He moved to Florida where he supported himself by driving a cab.
Acker's father died in December 1959 and in his will left him only $100.00. Acker's attempt to break his parents' will led to a confrontation between Acker and his oldest brother, Ike. At one point Acker was arrested on a complaint sworn out by Ike. In November 1960, after spending one week in a Virginia jail, Acker was sent to a mental institution in Virginia; and on April 17, 1961 Acker was transferred to the main mental hospital at Chattahoochee, Florida. It was only through the intervention of the then governor of Florida, Ferris Bryant, that Acker was discharged on February 10, 1962.
Acker died on April 16, 1983 and is buried in Mountain Home National Cemetery.
