Obituary of Stephen Lawrence Ackerman

Stephen Lawrence Ackerman June 19, 1970 - January 17, 2017 Public funeral services for Stephen “Steve” Lawrence Ackerman , 46, of Lovington, NM will be held on Saturday, January 21, 2017, at 2:00 pm at Pannell Auditorium with Matt Bridges, Pastor, officiating. A service for the family, the church family and close friends will be held on Saturday, June 21st at 10:00 am at First United Methodist Church with Matt Bridges officiating. Steve was born on June 19, 1970 in Portales, NM and passed away on January 17, 2017 in Encino, NM. Arrangements are under the direction of Kirby-Smith-Rogers Funeral Home. Steve married Stefania Kinnan in 1988 and they have lived in Lea County since 1991. He has been employed by Lea County since 1991 and has twenty six years in law enforcement experience. He has served as instructor for NMJC Law Enforcement Academy, served the sheriff’s department as Patrol Deputy, Training Specialist, Lieutenant and Captain and now was serving as Lea County Sheriff. He believed in personal responsibility, integrity, faithfulness to morals and values and treating all people with respect and dignity. He attended First United Methodist Church with his family and he felt that his greatest accomplishments were his family and their lives together. His public life speaks for itself but his personal life was one of family, building cars, motors, hunting, shooting, fishing and all kinds of animals and being supportive of those things close to his heart, such as doing Katie’s Color Run, Operation 300, Shooting competitions to help raise awareness and money and many others. He also played Unified Bocce with Special Olympics. He was on the Board of Directors for Options and the Lea County Sheriff’s Association. Steve liked simple things and was the epitome of a great husband, father, and “crampa” as his grandson, Andrew, lovingly called him. Stefania’s sweetest and most heartfelt compliment from Steve was when he sneezed, she would say “God Bless You” and he would respond with, “He already did, He gave me you.” He loved playing jokes and pranks on her and they did this to each other every day, making one another laugh. There’s not enough room to share all of Steve’s accomplishments on this paper but if you knew him, you know he was a kind and considerate man who loved life and you knew he was exceptionally dedicated to his job and the people he served . He is survived by his wife, Stefania of the home, his daughter, Danielle of the home and his son Christopher and Kendra and sweet grandson, Andrew of McKinney, TX; his father and mother: Lester and Juanita Ackerman of McNeal, AZ; one brother Ira Ackerman of McNeal, AZ . and many, many friends. Visitation will be held on Friday, January 20, 2017 from 3:00 pm until 8:30 pm at the funeral home. Donations may be made to Williams-Syndrome.com or to Lea County Special Olympics.