ACKERMAN, Sr., Joseph Weldon "Joe"
Joseph W. Ackerman was born on December 30, 1932, in Pensacola, Florida, and went home to be with His Lord and Savior on March 27, 2024.
Joe graduated from Pensacola High School in 1951. He enjoyed math and science courses in high school and his hobby was building model airplanes. He decided that he wanted to go to college and become an engineer; however, funding his education was a problem. The best option was to go into the military and qualify for the GI Bill. The military had many advantages, with the primary one being the opportunity to take college courses in the service that would count toward his degree in engineering. He would also receive excellent leadership training.
Joe enlisted in the Army and completed 16 weeks of basic training, eight weeks of Leadership School, and 26 weeks of Officer Candidate School. Upon graduation, he was promoted to Second Lieutenant and immediately volunteered for flight school, graduating with Silver Wings in July of 1955. After leaving active duty, he continued to fly in the Army Reserve for 11 years. In all, Joe has a total flying history of 60 years accumulating over 3,000 flight hours.
In September of 1956, he married Helen Engelman. She too was born and raised in Pensacola and is a graduate of Pensacola High School. They were married for 55 years and she was a great support to him in college and in his career. He enrolled at Auburn and graduated in March of 1960 with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree.
Joe's career included employment as an electrical engineer with major corporations in the following order: Boeing, General Electric, Electro Mechanical Research (a division of Schlumberger), and IBM. He worked on several projects that were related to the military and space program, including the BOMARC high/low level anti-aircraft nuclear attack missile, problem resolution for the Mercury spacecraft and checkout equipment for the NASA Lunar Lander.
At International Business Machines (IBM) Joe developed a concept to control energy sources such as electrical and gas power in major facilities such as large department stores, shopping malls, hospitals, hotels, textile plants and similar facilities. The net result was IBM customers reduced energy consumption by billions of BTUs. IBM sold millions of dollars in computer systems. While at IBM he earned three 100% Club Awards, the Golden Circle Award, and the Outstanding Contribution Award.
Desiring to continue with energy conservation techniques, Joe founded Energy Control Systems (ECS) in 1976. ECS (www.energycontrolsystems.com) specializes in developing economical hardware and software for the energy conservation field. Major developments included demand control, chiller optimization, cooling tower optimization, variable volume fan speed control with optimization and calculated start/stop utilizing the Unix operating system. He retired from Energy Control Systems in 1997 and maintained an advisory interest in the company.
Joe's childhood passion for airplanes carried over into his adult life. He was a member of the Lite Blue Angels. He purchased a Challenger aircraft and built a Ran S6S and a hangar on a private field in Lillian, AL. He spent time maintaining his two planes and flying around the Southeast to visit family and friends. He was a volunteer at the National Naval Aviation Museum and a member of Warrington Presbyterian Church.
His beloved children include Lisa Cheeley (Bob) of Johns Creek, Georgia, and Joe Ackerman, Jr. (Dawn) of Oakwood, Georgia. He was exceedingly proud of all his grandchildren, David Cheeley, Amelia Cheeley (Tyler) Hearin, Harrison (Tori) Cheeley, Madison Ackerman (Eric) Potts, Alex Ackerman, and Ashley Ackerman; and his five great-grandchildren.
The family will have a private Celebration of Joe's Homecoming with Christ on Bayou Grande in Pensacola at his home.
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