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| Prudence E. Ernest, Age 82 |
| Visitation Location: |
Benson Funeral Home, St. Cloud, MN |
| Visitation Date/Time: |
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM |
| Funeral Time: |
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 11:00 AM |
| Funeral Location: |
Benson Funeral Home Chapel, St. Cloud, MN |
| Burial Location: |
Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery, Little Falls, MN |
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Prudence Ellene (Michael) Ernest, 82
St. Cloud
March 30, 1929 ~ September 29, 2011
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 11:00 AM at the Benson Funeral Home Chapel in St. Cloud for Prudence E. (Michael) Ernest, 82, of St. Cloud, who died Thursday, September 29, 2011, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Home in Sauk Rapids after a valiant battle with leiomyosarcoma cancer. Visitation will be Tuesday, October 4, 2011 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at Benson Funeral Home, St. Cloud, MN and one hour prior to the service at the funeral home on Wednesday. Burial will be in the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery, Little Falls, MN.
Prudence was born in South Bend, Indiana to Ralph W. and Prudence E. (Groff) Michael on 30 March 1929. She moved to rural Lakeville, Indiana in 1931 into a log cabin in a woods built by her father and grandfather Michael. She attended the Lakeville public school system graduating in 1947. During the intervening years she was a member of the Lakeville Methodist Church, Girl Scouts, 4-H, and the Rainbow Girls. She attended the School of Nursing, Methodist Hospital of Indiana, Indianapolis, graduating in 1950. In 1950 she accepted a commission as 2nd Lieutenant in the US Air Force Nurse Corps, stationed at Sheppard AF base in Wichita Falls, TX during the Korean conflict. She graduated from flight school in Montgomery, AL receiving her Flight Nurse wings. Following active duty she was stationed in Denver with the Colorado Air National Guard until 1961 when she resigned her commission as Captain. During her career in nursing she was on the staff at St. Joseph Hospital, Mishawaka, IN; Chicago Wesley Memorial, Chicago, IL; Bataan Memorial, Albuquerque, NM; Denver Veterans Hospital, Denver, CO, and Boulder Community Hospital in Boulder, CO.
Prudence graduated from the University of Colorado in 1958 with a BS in Nursing and in 1962 with an MS in Medical/Surgical Nursing.
Prudence married David John Ernest in Lakeville, IN on 30 August 1959; four sons were born of this union - David Michael, Stephen John, Bryan James, and Christopher Scott.
After moving to St. Cloud in 1963 she was an employee at SCSU for 25 years in Records and Registration and as an advisor in the College of Business working with Pre-Business students. Other affiliations in St. Cloud have been as a Cub Scout leader, on the original committee to establish the family YMCA, on the Boy Scouts board of directors, member of the PEO Chapter AJ,
SCSU Faculty Wives and Women, Daughters of the American Revolution, and American Association of University Women.
She most enjoyed spending time with her family at their cabin on Hunter Lake in Cass County, hunting and fishing with her sons and daughters-in-law as well as cooking and traveling to many foreign countries and throughout the USA.
She is survived by her husband, Dr. David J. Ernest of St. Cloud, MN, sons, David (Jennifer) of Mora, MN; Stephen of Minneapolis, MN; Christopher of Rochester, MN; Bryan (Judé) and their children Maxwell and Olivia of Pittsburgh, PA. Two sisters also survive - Mary J. Kaderabek of Philadelphia, PA and Marilyn Skinner of Brea, CA, and eight nieces and nephews.
Memorials are preferred to donor's choice. |
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