John Saxton Acker

Professor Emeritus of Humanities John Saxton Acker died September 2, 2011. He was seventy years old. Born in Flagstaff, he was a member of the Flagstaff pioneer family who settled the Apache Maid Ranch. Dr. Acker left Flagstaff to study painting at the Universita Per Straniere in Perugia and the Accademia in Torino, Italy. He returned to Flagstaff in 1960. Dr. Acker taught courses in Humanities and Art History at Northern Arizona University. He had a great love of Southeast Asian, European, and Native American art and culture. Over his many years at NAU, hundreds of students benefited from his knowledge and kindness. He is survived by his sisters Charlotte Acker of Clarkdale and Alice Joshevama and family of Oraibi. There will be no memorial service. To honor his memory, the family requests that donations be made to the John Saxton Acker Memorial Scholarship in the College of Arts and Letters through the NAU Foundation, Box 4094, Flagstaff, AZ 86011. An online guestbook is available to sign at www.westcottfuneralhome.com