Ernest Clifton Yoes

Ernest Clifton YOES was known as many things to many people. He was a Naval officer, a fiddler, a loved one, a friend, and someone special. To family and friends who knew him best, Ernie will be remembered as a very exceptional person.

Ernie was the son of Orville and Minnie Yoes. Ernie's father died while he and his brother Leon were very young. His earliest memories are of living at his grandparents house with his mom and Leon. His mother soon married Richard Baker, who was a wonderful and loving father to him and Leon, treating them as if they were his own children. Ernie grew up near Wills Point,Texas.

Ernie was raised with one younger sister, Euleta, and three younger brothers Leon, Sam, and Dennis. Although Ernie left home before Euleta, Sam, and Dennis were grown, Ernie (known to them as "Tip") stayed close to them. As his Navy duties allowed, Ernie, Shirley, and their kids would take yearly vacations to Texas to visit the family.

As a young boy, Ernie had a number of interests. He was curious about the world around him and liked to figure out how things worked. When given the opportunity, he liked to take things apart to see how they worked. He would take apart broken radios and try to fix them. He wanted a fiddle, but his parents couldn't afford to buy him one. Using a picture in the Sears catalog as a model, Ernie built his first fiddle using a cigar box and some pieces of wood he found. He then taught himself to play by watching fiddlers play at barn dances and special events. Ernest had a fairly happy high school experience. He was fairly popular with the other kids as he grew up in Wills Point, but living on a farm in the country, didn't have a lot of spare time to spend hanging out with friends. He graduated from Wills Point High School in 1951.

After graduation, Ernie decided to move to Dallas. One thing he knew for sure was that he didn't want to be a farmer. He worked at Furrs Cafeteria and then a boot factory in Dallas. As time and money allowed, he took a few business classes to help him get a better job. America was in the middle of the Korean Conflict at the time, and Ernie decided he should enlist in the Navy before he got drafted. The Navy ended up sending him to San Diego for training, which was where he met Shirley Ann Redding. On January 20, 1953, Ernie's 21st birthday, Ernie and Shirley were married at Revival Tabernacle in San Diego, CA. Shirley's youngest sister Barbara, served as their flower girl.

The Navy must have seen promise in Ernie, because they enrolled him in the "Mustang" program and sent him to Purdue College in Indiana to get a degree. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and was commissioned as an officer upon graduation. Since he was already serving in the Navy at the time, he would alternate semesters at college with time spent serving on ships during his college years. By this time he and Shirley had 3 children under the age of 5. Studying in the small campus apartment was quite a feat!

During this time Ernie developed an interest in ham radio. He got his ham radio license and would sit by his radio late in the evening calling "CQ, CQ, calling CQ. This is Kilowatt 6 Ocean Roger Zanzibar calling CQ". He had a world map on the bedroom wall where he would put push pins to show the many radio operators he had contacted throughout the world, as well as postcards they sent him.

While in the Navy, Ernie served on many ships, starting as a sailor, and ending his career as an ordnance officer stationed in San Diego. Some of the ships he served on were the Springfield, the Shangrila, and the Henry B. Wilson. He served one year in Vietnam as a liaison between the Navy and Marines, and the rest of the war at Naval Command Center in San Diego. Through his hard work, He achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He received several awards recognizing him for his service throughout his military career. He became friends with various shipmates. Walt Wagner, Lex Boswell, Paul Martinson and the Vandergusts were Navy friends who stayed in touch for many years after Ernie's retirement from the Navy. As the Vietnam War came to a close, Ernie began to think it was time to retire. Orders to Iceland made up his mind. He had served in the Navy for 22 years and was ready to settle and stay put in the new home they had built in Alpine, California.

After retirement Ernie worked at Humphreys Inc as an engineer on projects such as a missile guidance system. He greatly enjoyed the people he met and worked with during his second "career". He enjoyed attending Humphreys' reunions well into his 80s. After the company was sold and he retired for the second time, Ernie went to work at H & R Block and became an enrolled agent, doing taxes for clients, family, and friends until shortly before Shirley died.

Ernie enjoyed his leisure time by taking part in various hobbies. After moving to Alpine, Ernie began growing a garden in his backyard (lots of zucchinis and okra), had a short stint with wine making, and renewed his childhood interest in fiddling. He also took classes at USD and began to build his own violins (or fiddles if you're from Texas). As he became more interested in fiddling, most of his friends were now musicians who played in the Old Time Fiddlers with him and camping friends from the Wandering Minstrels bluegrass club, like Kathy and Clay, Bill and Betty, Sylvia and Marvin, Gerry and Eb, and so many more it's impossible to list them all. They became a second family to Shirley and Ernie and enjoyed playing music and traveling together. Throughout his later years, Ernest was an active member of the Old Time Fiddlers Association, the Violin Makers of America, and the San Diego Bluegrass club.

Ernie enjoyed watching sports more than participating in them. Tops on his list was Padres baseball. He also always rooted for the Navy during the annual Navy-Army football game. He liked to watch the Dallas Cowboys or San Diego Chargers from time to time. While his grandson David was in the University of Texas band, Ernie and Shirley became Longhorn fans (hook 'em horns!), faithfully wearing the burnt orange t-shirts with a picture of Bevo on them.. One of their greatest pleasures was watching UT games, looking for close up shots of the band so they could spot their favorite trombone player.

Ernest served on the board and as a judge for the annual Old Time Fiddlers Association, the Bluegrass Club, and was a member of the Violin Makers of America. He and Shirley helped to organize and run the Old Time Fiddlers contest at the San Diego County Fair for many years. Ernie and Shirley also served the Alpine community by setting up and manning the voting station in Alpine for a number of years.

Though he never set out to gain individual recognition, Ernie was given accolades for his many and varied accomplishments throughout his life. His most prized awards were the trophies he won in fiddle contests at the local, state, and regional levels.

Ernie enjoyed traveling and time away on vacations. He and Shirley liked to see things as they traveled and went from tent camping, to trailer, to a spacious motor home over the years. Favorite vacations included trips to see his parents, brothers, and sisters in Texas, visiting his son's family in Minnesota and Texas, and camping at various fiddle and bluegrass contests throughout the west. A trip to Austin the Christmas before Shirley died to meet their new twin granddaughters, Madison and Kendall was a highlight.

By the time Shirley died in 2011, the home and acre in Alpine were getting to be a bit too much for Ernie to take care of. Brain surgery to remove a benign tumor behind his left eye forced Ernie took a long time to recover from. His friend Kathy was a huge support for him, helping him to recover much of his strength. After he was better, Ernie moved to Lantern Crest Senior Living in Santee, California. In retirement, he found pleasure in watching tv. He even sometimes would watch bull riding!

Ernie passed away on December 22, 2016 at Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, California. Ernie had struggled with health issues related to congestive heart failure, diabetes, and COPD for the last few years. A cold aggravated pulmonary problems which finally led to his death. He is survived by his children, Sherilyn, Pam, and Michael; his grandchildren Robert, David, and Rebecca; his great-grandchildren Alyssa, Christopher, Kendall, and Madison; and his sister Euleta and brothers Sam and Dennis. Services were held at El Cajon Mortuary. Ernest was laid to rest in Alpine Cemetery beside his wife Shirley.

Simply stated, Ernie was a good and kind person, an individual who will for all time be remembered by his family and friends as being a caring and giving person, someone who was a vital part of their lives. Ernie leaves behind him a legacy of life-long friendships and many cherished memories. Everyone whose life he touched will always remember Ernest Clifton YOES.