Ernest “Ernie” H. Picker

Ernie was born in St. Louis, Missouri on January 29, 1925 to Ernst and Anna Picker.  Ernie was an only child and grew up in Warden, Illinois.  He enlisted in the US Naval Service the day before his 18th birthday on January 28, 1943.  Ernie was called to active service on November 1, 1943 and spent the next 2 years and 3 months serving his country proudly.

After receiving his honorable discharge from the US Naval Service in February of 1946, Ernie returned to his birth place of St. Louis, Missouri, where he received his Bachelors of Business degree from Washington University.  Ernie went to work for Firestone in St. Louis where he held the position of Salesman.  He was eventually promoted to a position at the Firestone headquarters in Akron, Ohio, where he helped Firestone transition into the computer age with some of the first computers developed by IBM.  He then transferred into Consumer Affairs and ended his career with a position in Finance.  Ernie retired from Firestone at age 58.

Ernie met his wife Gloria Cluney who was from St. Charles, Missouri.  Gloria was a school teacher when they first met.  They married on August 5, 1951 and had two children, son, Randal and daughter, Christine.  Ernie and Gloria were married 39 years before Gloria's passing on February 2, 1990.

Ernie then spent time getting to know other widowers and widows through the Baue sponsored Coping and Living Life (CALL) Group, where he met Dee Rodamaker in late 1994.  Ernie proposed to Dee in December of 1995 and they married in a beautiful ceremony on March 2, 1996 with all of their children as attendants.  Ernie and Dee were together for 23 wonderful years.

Ernie enjoyed spending time golfing, bowling and traveling the world with Dee for the next several years.  Ernie and Dee also enjoyed delivering Meals on Wheels where they made many friends along the way.  When staying home in St. Peters, Missouri, Ernie enjoyed spending time with his new blended family, keeping up on world news and politics as well as doing crossword puzzles. Ernie was also a faithful member of Chapel of the Cross Lutheran Church in St. Peters.

Ernie was a wonderful man with a quick wit and great sense of humor.  He loved life and his family, especially his 32 Grandchildren and 36 Great-Grandchildren.  He lived a very healthy, happy life and was fortunate and blessed to live 94 years.  Ernie will be deeply missed by many and loved forever.  May he rest in peace.