After a hard-fought battle with cancer, Joan Acker left her body and found everlasting peace. Joan was compassionate and kind, and if there was a theme to her life, it was to take care of others. Several nights a month she served hot meals to those experiencing homelessness, and for a decade she organized a holiday gift exchange for low-income families. Joan grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the first daughter of Paul and Catherine Lauer. One of eight siblings, Joan attended Rosary College where she studied sociology and made lifelong friends. After graduating from college in 1969, Joan lived for 12 years in San Francisco, where she married and had her beloved daughter, Catherine. In the early 1980s, she and Catherine resettled in Boulder. It was there on a cross-country ski trip that she met her second husband, Paul Acker. For 30 years, Joan led the operations divisions of commercial banks. She professed a love for finance and thrived when she led teams to tackle the behind-the-scenes challenges. In her retirement, she was an active member at the Light of Christ Ecumenical Catholic Community. She also enjoyed hiking, cross-country skiing, hosting exchange students, yoga, traveling and gardening. She is deeply missed by her husband, Paul Acker and daughter, Catherine Schloegel, as well as brothers Jim, Mark and Rick Lauer and sisters Ginny Roach and Peg Stalter, and was preceded in death by sister Mary Petri and brother Bob Lauer. Her 31 nieces and nephews were the light of her life. We will celebrate Joan's life on March 12, 2020 at 11:00am at Light of Christ (1000 W. 15th Avenue, Longmont, Colorado). In lieu of flowers, Joan asked for donations to Bridge House.

Published in The Daily Camera on Mar. 10, 2020.