Ernie was born in Hillsboro, Illinois on March 13, 1922. He passed from this life on July 3, 2019, in the Veterans Hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana. Ernie was 97 years, 3 months and 20 days old.
His survived by his wife of 34 years, Marilyn McIntosh; his son, Dennis McIntosh; his siblings, Bill McIntosh, Violet Woods, Carolyn Rasmussen and husband Jim and Donna Frueh and husband James; his son-in-law, Ray Bush. Grandchildren: Chase McIntosh and wife Kim, Nicole Jones and husband Dan and Charlotte Bush; great-grandchildren: Cody and Justin McIntosh and great-great grandchild, Aden McIntosh, along with numerous nieces and nephews.
He is pre-deceased by his parents, Jack and Emma Bee Christie McIntosh; his
Daughter, Janice Bush; his brothers, Everett and Howard; and sister, Betty and her husband Rich Pasqualone; his brother in law, George Woods; along with his 1st wife, Evelyn and son, Tommie.
In 1942, as a 21 year old, Ernie enlisted in the United States Marines. He was a World War II veteran. He saw action in the Pacific Theatre, namely the Islands of Saipan, Tinian and Remora. Ernie was literally blown out of his fox-hole by a mortar shell during conflict and suffered life threatening head wounds. It took him a year, state-side, in the hospital in Great Lakes to recover from his injuries. He had to re-learn his motor skills and recover his memory on how to do the simplest task. Ernie still carried shrapnel in his head at his death. He was awarded the Purple Heart for his valor in combat.
After the war, Ernie settled in California and lived there for 40 plus years. While living in Orange County he took an electrician course, mastering it and became an Electrical and Electronic Specialist.
He went to work at Holly Sugar as an electrician and went on to become the Head Electrician in Maintenance at Douglas Aircraft. He worked there for 10 years and used his knowledge and expertise to create and innovate to save Douglas Aircraft thousands of dollars. Later he went to work as Head Electrician for Nutrilife a company that made vitamins. He took his retirement from there in 1985.
Ernie lived a long and good life. He was a person that was very intelligent and knew something about everything.
In July of 1986, he went to buy a travel trailer on Corydon Avenue in Lake Elsinore and there met a widow, Marilyn Greever, and as they say, the rest is history. On June 6, 1987 he married Marilyn, the love of his life. They travelled extensively and once a year, somewhere in the United States, they met his World War II buddies for a reunion. Here he was able to talk about his experiences in the war.
In 2002, he followed Marilyn to Louisiana where her family lived. For the past 17 years he and Marilyn have lived in Windsor Place in Bossier City.
Today we salute Ernie McIntosh, a good man and a great American.
