Gone From My Sight

I am standing upon the seashore.  A ship, at my side, spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other .

Then, someone at my side says, “There, she is gone.”

Gone where? 

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast, hull and spar as she was when she left my side. And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.  Her diminished size is in me…not in her. 

And, just at the moment when someone says, “There, she is gone,” there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the the glad shout, “Here she comes!”

And that is dying…

by Henry Van Dyke

Sail on Ernie!  

Laurie Volz (Lynch) Akers

Nancy and family,

So sorry for your loss of Ernie. I miss him very much. At least he is not suffering any more and in a better place.

The fondest memory for me was attending the Navy's presentation of the Bronze Star with Valor to Ernie a few years ago.  I was truly honored that Ernie invited me.  We shared some memories in his home office and then he asked me help him with his blue blazer before heading to his backyard for the ceremony.  The accolades were impressive and many not told due to fact that security events were still not released by government.  The real highlight, I think to all of us present, was when is Son, Marine Major Tim Fenton pinned the Bronze Star with Valor on his Dad's chest.  Wow, an impressive moment I will never forget.

Ernie and I were "Long Islanders" who met at Clarkson and were in DU.  Ernie was fraternity president in 1967/68.  He followed Kurt Reimann and Paul Preo and then I followed Ernie in 1968/69. Following these guys was a humbling experience.  We all went our separate ways and then we began to reconnect.  I lived in Boston area twice and we got together in those years.  Rick Mann and I visited Ernie and Nancy at their home in Florida one winter when Ernie was dealing with his injuries.  Despite his pain and discomfort it was most enjoyable to be with him.  The Ernie sense of humor and the unforgettable smile is to be remembered.  Linda and I visited once more in Florida and then I attended his Bronze Star with Valor ceremony a few years later.  We called each other once or twice a year and talked about many things.  Ernie stayed in touch and I was always passing on to others what Ernie was going through and the strong spirit he had.  I was happy when he and Nancy moved to Maryland where he would be closer to family and medical resources.

My only regret is that we didn't see him one more time after their move.  Lesson learned. 

I have a story like Neil's.  There were two hockey players that rented next door to me in Charlestown, MA. in 1995.  They played some pro hockey and were now getting masters at MIT.   One night, over a few beers, they told me that they met this incredible "older guy" at a Topsfield bar that they visited often.  It seems that Ernie stopped there after work as well.  They thought that I may have gone to Clarkson and may know this "older guy".  I said I sure did and that they could not find a better guy to hang out with and hoist down a few.  I am sure they did.  As we know, Ernie traveled many roads and made a valued impressions with countless others.

God Speed Ernie as you travel on.

Art Scottow DU '69

A friend for a lifetime

In life we have different kinds of friends. Some we are close to and see often, others we don’t see physically so often but stay connected with because they are important to us. The latter reflects my relationship with Ernie. Not having a lot of face time did not mean I did not think of him often. Ernie was always full of life and was an inspiration to many of us. My admiration for him made me want to stay in touch.

We met as freshmen at Clarkson and then both pledged Delta Upsilon. We made a quick connection and were told by people that we reminded them of each other. I guess we were similar physically but I think it was our personalities that led to those comments.

After Clarkson he went into the Navy and encouraged me to try Navy flight school. I failed that physical and ended up in Army OCS. I was serving in Hawaii in 1971,or so, when Ernie came by enroute from Vietnam and Antarctica. We had some time to catch up with his amazing exploits.

Then a few years passed and we were in North Andover MA and they were in Topsfield so we saw each other occasionally and had some good times with Moose, Art et al. Later when I had an opportunity to go to Saudi Arabia we took some counsel from Ernie and Nancy. Then off we went for four years that changed my life.

Several years later we reconnected over a mutual friend who was damaged by Agent Orange. At this time Ernie was still trying to decipher what was causing his physical disabilities and we communicated regularly. We tried to meet when they were in Florida on the Space Coast but never pulled it off.

When they moved up to Maryland we were near them in Virginia. We were still communicating regularly when the most amazing thing happened. Ernie called to tell me that one of the staff from the Richmond VA hospital, whom he was seeing regularly- told him one day that he reminded him of a guy he played Senior Softball with. When he told Ernie that that person was me , he said his jaw hit the ground in amazement. I guess we had come full circle.

Ernie was an amazing person and I feel blessed to have had the contact and relationship with him throughout my life. I hope no feels I am being trite writing this. However I have recently lost a couple of friends and colleagues that were important to me that I never felt I gave them their due. So I did not want to let Ernie go without honoring him in some way.

Rest in Peace you old sail maker,

Neil Fisher