Biography: Peggy Thomasson Ackerman died peacefully at her home in the woods west of Little Rock on August 9, at the age of 91.  She was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, on May 3, 1931, to V.O. Thomasson and Verda Sadler Thomasson, and spent her childhood surrounded by the Sadler clan in Rison, Arkansas. 
 
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, and fellow Risonian, George Link Ackerman, whom she married on November 2, 1957.  She is survived by her two daughters, Susan, of Lebanon, NH, and Laura (Bruce Smoller), of Rochester, NY; two grandsons, Jason (Rachel Starr) and Gabriel (Sarah Cocuzzo); her great-grandson Benjamin Link Starr-Smoller; and a nephew, Tom.
 
She was the 1949 valedictorian of Rison High School and, in typical small-town fashion, was also the secretary-treasurer of the senior class, editor-in-chief of the yearbook, a guard on the district-champion basketball team, and a saxophonist in the marching band.  She attended Hendrix College, from which she graduated in 1952, and remained a loyal supporter of her alma mater.  Following Hendrix, she received a MA from George Peabody College in Nashville, TN, in 1953, and did additional graduate work at the University of Wisconsin in 1954-55.  Returning to Arkansas, she began working in Roscoe Dykman’s laboratory at UAMS and then at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, as a research psychologist specializing in the study of reading disabilities, a position she retained until her retirement in 2000.  Before the phrase “having it all” had been invented, Peggy was negotiating her way to a life that had room for both career and family.  She often recalled with laughter that, after the birth of one of her daughters, Dr. Dykman brought a crank calculator to her hospital room and said, “While you’re just sitting here you might as well run a regression analysis.”  And she did quietly find her way to a distinguished scholarly career.  With Dykman and associates, she published scores of papers in journals such as the Journal of Learning Disabilities; the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology; the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry; and the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.  She was first author on more than half of these papers and received the Pioneer Research Award from the Learning Disabilities Association in 1991.  Those who knew the self-effacing Peggy never heard her trumpet these achievements, although she would talk at length and with great enthusiasm about the latest theories of how children best learn.
 
Peggy was also a passionate nature lover, an avid birder, and an expert on the native plants of Arkansas.  Few things made her happier than to be among wildflowers, whether the trout lilies, bloodroots, and jack in the pulpits near her home; the dogwoods, Dutchman’s breeches, and lady slippers of the Ozark hills and valleys; or the columbines, paintbrush, and shooting stars of her favorite mountain meadow, Yankee Boy Basin in Colorado.  She cherished the memories of trips to the Rocky Mountains with her husband and daughters, where mountain hikes provided the perfect opportunity for both her love of wildflowers and wildlife and husband George’s zeal for nature photography.  And this love was equally on view in the home they built together on ten acres of woods west of Little Rock, where wood ducks and geese nested on the pond they named Buckeye Lake, where iris cristata that she carefully tended bloomed outside the front door, and where the walls were filled with photographs of wildflowers and critters.
 
The Ackerman home on Buckeye Lake was the scene of many gatherings of friends, colleagues, and family.  Peggy was blessed with rich and long friendships throughout her life, and in her later years she enjoyed reminiscing about departed friends. Peggy was a welcoming hostess and excellent cook, and her daughters and grandsons have fond memories of “treats” on the deck and meals in the dining room—sometimes with catfish and bass caught in the pond that afternoon.  Anyone who came to that house also encountered a well-loved dog or two, a succession of terriers--the incorrigible wire-haired Wart and the indefatigable frisbee-chasing Josh--and corgis, especially her beloved Gelert.  These canines’ exploits were legendary among UAMS students, residents, and colleagues.  In such an atmosphere, conversation flowed readily. whether about the latest books Peggy had read and which she shared eagerly with friends, or in rehearsing memories of George and Peggy’s shared childhood in Rison. 
 
After her retirement, Peggy turned her research talents to family history and genealogy, tracing Sadler, Thomasson, and Ackerman ancestors with the same diligence and talent apparent in her academic career.  She contributed numerous entries to the two volumes of Cleveland County Arkansas: Our History and Heritage, delighting in every new discovery and sometimes spicing her entries with her own memories, such as of Robert, the talking parrot, who belonged to and long outlived one notable great aunt. 
 
Peggy’s passion for genealogy reflected her deep love of her own extended family, especially the many Rison aunts, uncles, and cousins who made her childhood such a happy one.  Rison was only one of many bonds that, when she returned to Arkansas in the mid 1950s, drew her together with with her late husband, George.  She and George shared a wonderful life together, full of books and art, of travel and discovery, including a memorable six-month sojourn with their daughters in England in 1971.  Her devoted care for her husband in his final years was extraordinary.  She was a kind and caring mother who took enormous pride in her daughters’ achievements and was a doting grandmother to Jason and Gabriel and great-grandmother to Benjamin. She was never more delighted than when she was with her whole family, preferably sharing a meal and swapping stories.   
 
Peggy was beloved by all who knew her and gave her own love as freely to the many people she cared about, including the caregivers who assisted her with daily chores in her final year.  Her family and friends will cherish her memory.
 
Visitation will be at Ruebel Funeral Home, 6313 West Markham St., in Little Rock, on Tuesday, August 16, from 5 to 6:30 pm, with brief remarks by the family at 5:30.   In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Avenue, Conway, Arkansas 72032 (https://www.hendrix.edu/makeagift/); the Arkansas Native Plant Society, care of Katherine Lincourt, Treasurer, 2625 Charter Oak Drive, Little Rock, AR 72227(https://anps.org/sponsors/); or the Cleveland County Historical Society, P.O. Box 192, Rison, Arkansas 71665.