Sharon Gail Dawkins Ackerson

The staff of Heishman Funeral Home sends condolences to the family of Mrs. Ackerson. Sharon Gail (Dawkins) Ackerson, 77, passed away on September 27th, 2024, at home in Fort Valley, VA after a year-long battle with lung cancer. Sharon was born on December 16, 1946, in Shawnee, OK, the first child of Gene and Marie Dawkins. As a child, she lived in several locations in the south, southwest and Midwest before the family settled in Refugio, TX. She graduated from Refugio High School and South Texas Commercial College in 1965 before beginning work at the Naval Air Station Chase Field, Beeville Texas. It was there that she met her husband Jeff, a Naval Aviator in training. They were married at NAS Cecil Field in Florida in 1968. They built a family together (two boys) while moving according to the needs of the Navy and were married for 56 years. They lived in Florida, Colorado, Virginia, London (England), California, Hawaii, and Maryland before retiring to Fort Valley, VA. Thanks to her father’s strong commitment and having grown up in Texas, Sharon was a life-long Dallas Cowboys fan. She returned the favor by ensuring that both her sons and her grandson also embraced the Cowboys. But when she finally had the opportunity to meet Roger Staubach, she was so starstruck she couldn’t even speak. However, years later she was thrilled to be able to bring both her sons on a special trip to watch the Cowboys play the hated Green Bay Packers at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. Sharon continued her education, receiving her nursing degree in 1988, and began a career as a registered nurse at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. When she retired from nursing, her lifelong love of dogs led her to the Golden Retriever breed. She has owned six Goldens and served as both Vice President and President of the Potomac Valley Golden Retriever Club. She bred a litter of Goldens that produced two service dogs and a participant in the Morris Animal Foundation’s Golden Retriever Lifetime Study. The latter effort is aimed at collecting data to support veterinary research to find the causes of canine cancer. The litter also prompted Sharon to capture the events in the first year of life of one of the puppies from that litter, and as a result Sharon became a published author in the last year with the publication of her book “Sassy Cassie: A Dog’s Blog”. Sharon is survived by her husband, Jeffrey Ackerson of Fort Valley, VA; her sons Wayne Ackerson of Lawrenceville, GA and Craig Ackerson and his wife Renee of Bowie, MD; brother Keith Dawkins and his wife Dona, of Rockport, TX; grandson Ken Ackerson and his wife Laura, of New York City, NY; and several nieces, nephews and cousins. In lieu of flowers, the family requests you consider donations to any of the following worthwhile charity organizations: Golden Retriever Foundation (www.goldenretrieverfoundation.org) Morris Animal Foundation Golden Retriever Lifetime Study (www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/golden-retriever-lifetime-study) American Cancer Society Blue Ridge Hospice Services will be held graveside at Detrick Cemetery in Fort Valley at 2:00 on Saturday, October 5th, 2024.

Sharon Gail Dawkins Ackerson

December 16, 1946 - September 27, 2024