Ernestine Marie Shivers was born on March 29th, 1957 in Bolivar, Tennessee to Leanor and Ernest Shivers. As a toddler, the family moved to Saint Louis, MO after Ernest finished his Army service.

The family settled in Northwoods, with Ernestine attending Ascension Grade School and St Marks All-Girl High School, graduating in the class of 1975. She attended University of Missouri-St. Louis, pursuing a degree in Business.

Ernestine always prided herself on an incredible work ethic, and it showed from an early age. At 12, she assisted the neighbors for cash and worked at the corner store in her neighborhood, stocking shelves and working the cash register. In her 20’s, she briefly lived in New York City, working in the fashion and beauty industry. She pursued a corporate career back in St Louis afterward, starting with sales at Famous & Barr and subsequently professional services at Union Pacific Railroad.

In the late 1980’s, Ernestine started at the Archdiocese of St. Louis, jumpstarting a career there that would last more than 20 years across multiple offices and functions including St. Ann Parish, the now Cardinal Rigali Center, and Washington University. In 2007, she started at the St Louis Public Schools, working at District Headquarters downtown to Gateway High School, Soldan, and Kennard before leaving the district in the late 2010’s. She loved mentoring and working with the youth and strived to create a welcoming environment in her offices, complete with candy and stuffed animals.

In addition to her full-time career, Ernestine was proud to serve the Saint Louis community. Starting in the early 2000’s, she was appointed by the County Executive to the Saint Louis County Parks Board. a position she served in with pleasure and honor before retiring in 2019. In 2024, she was steered out of retirement to serve the city of Normandy, the town she has lived in since 1990. She won election as councilwoman and served the city with great honor and enthusiasm until her homecoming.

Ernestine loved her family. While on the Board at St Louis County Parks, she organized for her nieces and nephews to do a horse-drawn carriage tour for the Holiday Lights at Tilles Park every single year, for over a decade. For back-to-school, she would use her SLPS connections to ensure they had school supplies for the first day of school. And for the Holidays, she would often buy winter jackets to ensure they weren’t going cold. Beyond those moments, she always loved to reach out over text or phone to check in on people and ensure they were ok.

Finally, she loved her son, David. If you chatted with her for even a second, she would tell you countless tales or stories that David accomplished in his education and professional journey. He was her world and she sacrificed immensely to ensure he had the chance to lead a good life. The last trip she took was to San Francisco to see her son be married, one of the proudest days of her life. She was happy to have a daughter, Amanda, in her life finally and was looking forward to building more cherished memories.

Ernestine is survived by her only child, David; husband, Carl; sister Christine; nieces, Carmelita and Carmelita; nephew, Christopher; grand niece, Carmea; grand nephews, Chris, Caleb, Leo Calen, and Cameron; along with her countless uncles and aunts and extended family from all over the country. She is preceded in death by her parents Leanor and Ernest Shivers, brother-in-law Bobby Daniels, and grand nephew Cartez.

Send to someone

Share this obituary with others

https://everloved.com/life-of/ernestine-shivers-jones/obituary/

Copy