Fashionista who grew up under Nazi occupation dies at 90

Antonia “Tony” Ackerman could be summed up by her daughters as a softhearted, self-taught wordsmith with a “wicked” sense of humor and a particular fixation on The New York Times crossword puzzle. Ellen and Laura Ackerman say the longtime Syosset resident was also a fashionista with an affinity for bold colors and statement jewelry.

“She was always beautifully dressed and coordinated,” Laura said.

Old photos of Ackerman capture her in bright red lipstick, side-swept curls, and stylish jewelry including spiral flower earrings and a necklace with a snake on it. As she aged, her doctors told her no more high heels — only sneakers.

“But she had all different colors of sneakers and always coordinated with her outfit,” Laura added with a laugh.

Ackerman's later days of color-coordinated outfits and elegant ensembles were a far cry from her childhood — growing up in St. Peter Freienstein, Austria, under Nazi occupation, she struggled to get by with little food and unsuitable clothing. Then she met the love of her life, Marvin, in Salzburg. Ackerman married him, converted to Judaism and together they moved to New York in 1956, eventually ending up in Syosset.

“She spoke English but she wanted to speak better and she used the newspaper as a way to increase her knowledge of not only current events, but also vocabulary,” Ellen said.

Ackerman died on Feb. 7 at the age of 90, her family said, having spent her last four decades on Long Island.

Ackerman’s daughters said that, during their childhood, she rarely divulged memories of living in Austria but opened up more as she got older. These wartime tales of a young woman who fed dogs that followed her home and stood up to a soldier who tried to take her bicycle opened up a whole new side of their mother that the girls hadn’t known.

The stories were revelatory at times. Five years ago, Laura said she took a trip to Austria with her parents and her husband, and they were riding along in a car miles from Ackerman’s hometown.

“She stopped and said, ‘This must be around where my girlfriends and I came to look for food,’” Laura said. “We were two hours from her old house, and there were no cars then. She said during the war, they were short on food so [Ackerman’s family] sent her and her friend out to find a farmer and trade for some food.” 

Laura remembers her saying, “I don’t remember what we did; I guess we slept outside overnight." She estimates her mother must have been around 14 at that time. 

“To grow up like that is so far away from how we grew up,” Laura said.

Every Sunday, Ackerman filled out the crossword puzzle in the Times. She also watched “Jeopardy!” religiously, and kept score for herself as she followed along with the players.

After Ellen grew up and moved out, she knew not to call her mother on weeknights between 7 and 7:30 p.m.

Ackerman worked as an operations manager for a company that sold medical supplies to hospitals, retiring in 1993. She was friendly with her colleagues, and Laura added that her mother would strike up conversations with just about anyone, from servers in restaurants to workers who sold her lottery tickets.

“When people had accents, she asked where they were from,” she said. “She wasn’t discriminatory; she was genuinely interested. She would ask them how to say ‘hello’ in their language.”

Ackerman always tried to learn “a few words” from the languages of countries she visited, Laura said. She was an avid traveler, setting foot in Thailand, China and various parts of Europe. Ellen noted that her mother had something positive to say about every single place she visited.

Wherever Ackerman went, her daughters agreed that she always traveled in style — a big change from her days in Austria. Laura remembers her mother saying she had a pair of “wooden shoes” that weren’t even clogs; just shoes made out of wooden slats.

“She always looked at people and would never judge them based on where they come from or what they do,” Laura said.

Ackerman is survived by her daughters, Ellen Ackerman (married to Charles Jablonski) of Manhattan and Laura Ackerman (married to Hal Berenson) of Colorado. Her husband preceded her in death. Ackerman was cremated and her daughters will be spreading her ashes in Austria.

By Rachel Weiss

rachel.weiss@newsday.com@RachMWeiss

Rachel Weiss joined Newsday in 2016. As a real estate/living multimedia reporter, Rachel writes feature stories and contributes to and appears in on-camera video packages. She was the lead reporter on Newsday’s LI Acts of Kindness series.