John Martin Ernst, 85, of Hillsboro, died Friday, Jan. 9, 2015, at 1:45 a.m. at Montgomery Nursing and Rehab Center in Taylor Springs.
Funeral Mass was said Tuesday, Jan. 13, at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Hillsboro with the Very Rev. James L. Neuman, V.F., pastor of St. Agnes Catholic Church in Hillsboro, officiating.
Burial was in Oak Grove Cemetery in Hillsboro with military rites at graveside by V.F.W. Post #1306 and American Legion Post #425.
Bass Patton Dean Funeral Home in Hillsboro was in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Ernst was born on Jan. 9, 1930, in Fillmore Township, the son of the late Arthur William and Catherine Barbara (Sommer) Ernst. He married Sarah Jean Welge on July 28, 1962, at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Hillsboro, and she preceded him in death on May 30, 2014.
He attended McDavid Point rural school, but when the family moved to their grandfather’s farm he began attending the Victor rural school for a total of eight years. He then attended Coffeen High School, graduating in the spring of 1947. Following high school graduation, he worked on the farm helping Woody Huber pick up milk cans from the dairy farmers for delivery to the Litchfield Creamery.
Mr. Ernst was drafted during the Korean War and left for service on Jan. 2, 1952. He and his brothers were all in the service during the same time. Upon enlistment, he was shipped over to Schofield Barracks in Hawaii for his basic training, but then returned stateside. He was sent to Fort Sheridan near Great Lakes, then later to Camp Attebury near Indianapolis, IN, where he was assigned to be a driver for General Caraway. During that time they drove all over the mid-central and southern states, visiting the various colleges overseeing the ROTC units, until his discharge from the Army in December of 1953. He was in the Army Reserves for six years.
He had played on baseball and basketball teams, and during the years his sons were of the age to play Little League baseball, he was an assistant coach to Ronald Boyd. In 1954 he began working for Kelley Foods in Hillsboro, and in January 1956 he became an insurance agent for Country Companies. Then on April 15, 1960, he began work for the Montgomery County Farm Supply and worked for that company for 35 years until retiring in January 1996. After his retirement he continued working part-time for M&M Farm Supply and area farmers during the spring planting and fall harvest seasons.
Throughout his adult life Mr. Ernst was a member of many organizations, including a 50 year member of the American Legion Post #425 in Irving, where he served as commander, vice-commander and finance/treasurer officer. He joined the Hillsboro Jaycees in 1961, becoming an exhausted rooster in 1964; the Knights of Columbus Council #4608, where he was elected Grand Knight in 1988; and he served as a board member of the Old Settlers Association beginning in 1963. For 37 years beginning in 1961, he lined up the floats for the Old Settlers parade. In August 1997, both he and his wife were parade marshals for the Old Settlers Association.
He was also a charter member of the Hillsboro Auxiliary Police; served on the Montgomery County Housing Authority Board from 1986 to 1995; helped during the remodeling of the second floor of the Salvation Army building into an emergency shelter; delivered Meals on Wheels; was a driver for cancer patients to their treatments; charter member of the Montgomery County Veterans Assistance Commission, where he served as finance officer; and in 2008 he was appointed to the Veterans War Memorial Committee.
Mr. Ernst was an avid reader and he loved watching sports. As a boy growing up on a farm, he liked growing things and had a large garden and orchard. His greatest joy was sharing the produce with others.
He is survived by two sons, Michael (wife Heather) Ernst of Littleton, CO, and Mark (wife Tonia) Ernst of Morrison; four grandchildren, Taylor Wright Ernst of Littleton, CO, Alexander Michael Ernst, Evan Matthew Ernst and Asher William Bedford Ernst, all of Morrison; one brother, Henry A. (wife Beverly) Ernst of Hillsboro; one sister, Frances Catherine Weitekamp of Raymond; one sister-in-law, Barbara Ernst of Coffeen; and four brothers-in-law, Vernon "Bud" Terneus of Hillsboro, Louis M. "Marty" (wife Joan) Welge and Frederick "Fritz" (wife Christine) Welge, both of St. Louis, and Phil Dammann of North Carolina.
Besides his parents and wife, Mr. Ernst was preceded in death by one sister, Marie Terneus; and one brother, Lester Ernst.
