It is with great sadness that Aker's family announce his sudden passing on Thursday, December 22, 2022 at the age of 38.

Aker will be lovingly remembered by his mother, Lorri; father, Albert; and sister, Stephanie.  He will also be deeply missed by many extended family members and friends.

Born and raised in Calgary, Aker rarely ventured far from home.  He crafted himself a simple, if somewhat unconventional, life lived to its fullest on his terms.  Aker tried his hand at a number of occupations from bartending at the Shamrock and parts driver at Plains Diesel to locating with both Consolidated and Canadian Utilities.  But he exited this world at the top of his game after finally landing his dream job legally peddling pot at the local Four20 store.  Aker was dependable, fiercely loyal, and funny in his own quietly scheming sort of way.

Aker had a close group of friends who were his chosen family and meant the world to him.  He was Uncle Aker to all his friends' children which, as a kid at heart himself, came easily to him.  Bonding over video games, tubs of candy, cans of Pepsi, Marvel movies and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles earned him top marks in this regard.  Aker also enjoyed attending music festivals and concerts with his friends, watching WWE events, and many other activities as long as they didn't involve camping.

Aker grew up playing sports - basketball, baseball, and football, to name a few. He continued as an adult, playing flag football for many years, including with his Dad on the Northmen team. An avid sports fan, Aker cheered for red-wearing teams from the Flames and Stamps locally to the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Braves farther afield.  But his favourite team, across all categories, was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  On game day you would be sure to find Aker settled in on the couch wearing his favourite Bucs jersey, sitting beside his giant Minion wearing his lucky Bucs hat.

Aker was a lifelong fan of The Simpsons and would undoubtedly approve of us concluding our remarks by quoting the illustrious Bart Simpson to summarize our feelings regarding his untimely death, "I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows."

An Open House to celebrate Aker's life will be held on Saturday, January 21, 2023 from 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm at the Lake Sundance Banquet Hall, (63 Suncrest Way SE) Calgary.  The family request attendees wear their favourite sports jersey or something red to honour Aker's memory.

The family would like to thank Dr. Daly and Dr. Couillard and all the staff at Foothills Medical Centre for their care of Aker.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Alberta Cancer Foundation ( https://www.albertacancer.ca/donate/ ) or Kids Up Front Calgary ( https://kidsupfrontcalgary.com/donate/ ).

Alberta Cancer Foundation
1620 29 St NW, Suite 300, Calgary AL T2N 4L7
Web: https://www.albertacancer.ca/

Kids Up Front Calgary
105 12 Ave SE Suite #110, Calgary AB T2G 1A1
Tel: 1-403-444-4318
Web: https://kidsupfrontcalgary.com/