City of Akron, Akron City Council

166 South High Street, 3rd Floor

Akron, Ohio  44308

Phone:  (330)375-2256

Fax:      (330) 375-2298

E-mail:  Ward3@ci.akron.oh.us

 

 

Marco S. Sommerville

President/CEO of Marco S. Sommerville Funeral Services

and President of Akron City Council, Akron, Ohio

 

 

Mr. Sommerville is a life long resident of Akron and is the product of Akron Public Schools.  He attended Kent State University and the Cincinnati School of Mortuary Science.

 

He served his apprenticeship in Akron before accepting a position in Cleveland, Ohio, where he managed a local funeral home.  In time, Mr. Sommerville developed working relationships with several Cleveland-area establishments while at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.  He also served a term as president of the Cleveland Funeral Directors’ Association.

 

In 1978, Sommerville began his own funeral business in Akron while utilizing the facilities of another operator.  He went solo five years later building a facility on Akron’s West Side.  A few years ago, the building was expanded to accommodate his growing business.

 

Mr. Sommerville, even with a fledging business, found time to serve his community.  He served as president of the local branch of the NAACP and either headed or worked with many other organizations as well.  Today, with a grueling schedule, he still finds time to work closely with community groups in Akron.

 

In 1987, he was appointed to Akron City Council and in January of 1999, Sommerville was elected by his peers to lead City Council as its second African-American president.  His leadership has made Council a more active, independent body that is more receptive to issues and to constituents.

 

Councilman Sommerville has made a lasting impact in his ward and with the city of Akron as well.  He is President of the local hospital district and a board member of the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and Chairman of the Advisory Board to the President of the University of Akron.  He is a past president of the local chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, the Akron Urban League and also is a 33rd Degree Mason.

 

Marco Sommerville and wife Debbie have two daughters, Margo (a student at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania) and Shayla, and a son, Marco, Jr.