November 8, 1939 – November 8, 2022
Ernie went home to be with his Lord at the age of 83, after a brief hospitalization in Lethbridge, Alberta.
He will be remembered as a devoted, humble, generous, kind and faithful man who loved his family deeply and was loved and respected by all who knew him. Born in Humboldt, SK, his family settled in Maple Ridge in 1941.
After high school he enrolled in trade school, but while in line to sign up for sheet metal, he noticed the next line over was shorter. Not only did carpentry become his trade, but it became his passion. 15 Years later, Ernie built a home in Maple Ridge that was quickly filled with the laughter of his 3 children.
In 2003 he married Valerie Armstrong and they began a new adventure together living in Surrey, Langley and these last 2 years, Lethbridge. They enjoyed travelling and made many wonderful memories together.
Ernie worked pretty much all his life, working on project sites well into his 70’s, and when he finally retired ‘for real’, he continued to keep busy, tending his vegetable gardens, building rocking horses, helping to renovate someone’s bathroom or kitchen, making jams, refinishing furniture. He was always there to lend a hand or loan a tool and provide advice.
In 2019 he was diagnosed with cancer, he beat Leukemia, but continued to live with advanced prostate cancer until the end.
Ernie will be lovingly remembered and deeply missed by his daughter Rosalie; sons Michael and Alfred; wife Valerie; grandchildren Koen, Benjamin, Emma, Jasper and Finnian; his brother Ed & sisters-in-law Esther and Gert; stepchildren Richard, Leila and Wayne Armstrong; step grandchildren Samantha, Joanne and David as well as many loving nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. Ernie was predeceased by his parents Elizabeth and Michael, brothers Albert and Clarence, and nephew Jeff.
“As long as we remember a person, they’re not really gone. Their thoughts, their feelings, their memories, they become a part of us.” -Justin Cronin
May you rest peacefully in His arms.Obituary-