Alfons Ernst

Alfons "Al" Ernst, 78, of Hendersonville died Sunday at Sumner Regional Medical Center. Born May 8th, 1938 in Bad Aibling, Germany, Alfons was the eldest son of 11 children. He grew up on the family farm while learning the trade of masonry. At age 18 he emigrated to the US working in masonry and carpentry prior to enlisting in the Army. Ernst enlisted in 1958 and was stationed in Virginia and later Germany. When he was sent to serve in Germany the Army recognized his skill as a mason and assigned him to building projects for the Army. While in Germany he met his future wife, Marianne. They married 2 years later and they returned to Long Island, NY. Alfons and Marianne started their family and he started his own tile contracting business. He operated his company from 1969 until 1996 when he retired after suffering a stroke. Always with a strong work ethic, Al's determination and "glass half full" attitude allowed him to adapt to his health constraints. In 2004 he and Marianne moved to Hendersonville so that they could live near their grandsons. In his retirement, he enjoyed building small things, gardening and still enjoyed doing tile work. He woke up each day with a sense of purpose and was thankful for each day God blessed him with. Alfons leaves to cherish his memory; his wife, Marianne (Stopper) Ernst; his son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Eileen Ernst; his daughter and son-in-law, Monica and Ben Pirkle; and his two grandsons, Tyler and Austin Pirkle. A celebration of life service with military honors will be held Saturday, February 18th at 2:30 pm at Hendersonville Funeral Home followed by a light reception. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude's Childrens Hospital www.stjude.org/donate