Obituary of Charlie Ernst
With great sadness and love, the family of Charlie Ernst announces his gentle passing on Sunday, July 12 at age 96 of natural causes. Predeceased by his loving wife Rhoda of 70 years. Cherished father of Jim (Sue), Anne, Charles (Cindy). Loving Grandfather and joke teller to Kari (Sandy), Jehn (Mike), Tim (Caren), Lori (Roger), Bryan (Victoria), Bo and Bronte. Very spoiling Great Grandfather of Scarlett, Ella, Owen, Cooper, Abigail, Waverly, Lawrence and Penelope. Grandfather and babysitter to his many grand dogs and cats. Special friend of Bruce (Terri) Burgoyne, the Moore family, his Mt. Zion Lutheran Church community, and many more.
Charlie was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was raised in his beloved Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. He served with the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve during WWII. He met his wife Rhoda on a blind date while stationed in Toronto and after the war, they made their home in Waterloo where Charlie built his home himself on veteran land.
Charles led an active life raising 3 children, foster children, and poorly behaved dachshunds. He always made time for volunteer work, most notably Mount Zion Lutheran Church, St. Agatha Children’s Village, Trinity Village Retirement Home, Out of the Cold, Open Sesame Head Start Program, SHOW Supportive Housing and Habitat for Humanity.
Charlie and Rhoda had a lively retirement full of dinner guests, travel, mall walking, babysitting, pet sitting, visiting friends, church clubs, and volunteer work. Their pace was difficult to keep up with, even into their 90s.
Charlie was a story teller with a sense of humour who had a deep passion for helping others. He could often be found fixing and repairing the homes of his family and friends with plenty of power tools for the task at hand. He would happily take a piece of pie as payment. Everyone he met was his family, and he made an impact on all around him.
He was also a pilot (one of the very few monocular pilots in Canada) and enjoyed taking people for a flight around the Waterloo area.
Charlie spent the last year of his life at Terrace on the Square being cared for by the wonderful staff. He enjoyed visits from his family, celebrating his 96th birthday, and supervising the LRT along King St.- he was an engineer to the end!
Charlie left a legacy of love, compassion, integrity, humour and acceptance. He will be reunited with his beloved Rhoda and other family members who have gone before him.
Due to current events, Charlie’s life will be celebrated privately by his family. Donations to Open Sesame, Mt Zion Lutheran Church, SHOW of Waterloo, or the charity of your choice is appreciated in lieu of flowers and can be arranged through the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King Street S., Waterloo at 519-745-8445 or www.erbgood.com.