July 28, 1933 - March 27, 2024
Bradenton, FL and Fairfax, VA, Virginia - Marjorie Anne Ackerman, 90, of Fairfax, VA and Bradenton, FL, died of cancer on March 27th at her home in Fairfax in the loving care of her husband, John J. Stirk.
Born in Santa Barbara, Marjorie's life was marked by a large and loving family and varied careers. As young woman in Paris in the late 1940's and early 1950s, Marjorie was a fashion model who graced the covers of magazines such as Paris Match, Elle, and Marie France. In Paris, she met and married Karl D. Ackerman, a career U.S. diplomat. The pair raised six children while posted in France, Norway, Taipei, Thailand, and Washington, DC. Marjorie had successful careers as a real estate broker and certified financial planner. Marjorie and Karl were married for 44 years until his death in 1997.
After retiring from business, Marjorie dedicated herself to faith and servce. Certified as one of the Washington area's few female Catholic Chaplains, Marjorie served as an on-call volunteer pastoral care provider in hospitals and with the American Red Cross disaster response team. On Sept 11, 2001, Marjorie cared for families and first responders at the crash site of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, PA.
Marjorie also developed, resourced, and for many years led the Life Skills Workshop, Inc., a non-profit that clothed, trained, and advocated for women upon their release from prison in seeking employment and housing. The Life Skills Workshop was supported and located for a period at Marjorie's former parish, St. Jane Frances de Chantal Catholic Church in Bethesda.
Many lives were touched and changed by Marjorie's work, which garnered awards and citations the Governor of Maryland, the Maryland General Assembly, the Montgomery County Executive, and the American Red Cross. The Washington Area Women's Foundation gave Marjorie a Leadership Award for "commitment, vision, and innovative approach to serving the needs of woman and girls in the Washington Metropolitan Area."
In 2003, Marjorie received a degree of Master of Theological Studies from Washington Theological Union. In 2014, she married her second great love, John Stirk. The two settled in Bradenton, FL and Fairfax, VA and spent 10 years traveling the world, loving their growing family, making new friends, and keeping old ones.
Marjorie experienced the pain of surviving two children, her son Karl Ackerman (Jennifer) of Charlottesville, VA and her daughter, Terri Hollrah (Glenn) of Osprey, FL. Marjorie's survivors include her husband, John Stirk, and her children, Stephen Ackerman (Carol) of Alexandria, VA, Kristin Carroll (Mike Carroll) of Austin, John Ackerman (Terumi) of Everett, WA and Paul Ackerman (Eileen) of Phoenix, MD, 21 grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren.
A public funeral service will be held at St. Jane de Chantal Catholic Church in Bethesda, MD on April 10th at 10:00 AM, followed by a reception at the Knights of Columbus, Rock Creek Council. Marjorie's family requests that donations be made in Marjorie's honor to the Cancer Research Institute, in lieu of flowers.
