Devol Fritz Ernst

Devol Fritz Ernst, a long-time resident of Muncie, passed away on December 25, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. He was the oldest of five children born on October 21, 1934 to Naomi Prillaman Ernst and Devol Elston Ernst. He lived with his family in a home built by his father on the old Ernst Nursery property located on Highway 32 across from the Elm Ridge Cemetery for the first 16 years of his life. In 1950 his family moved into Muncie to live near Ball State University.

He attended Burris schools through high school and then graduated from Ball State University in 1957. Upon his graduation, he worked with his father at the Ernst Nursery, largely in sales. His father had built the business from the ground up in the early 1930s. Both Fritz and his father were passionate about the nursery business. When his father left the company in the late 1960s, Fritz became the president and managed the operation, which included nurseries in Indianapolis, IN; Eaton, OH; St Louis, MO and Effingham, IL. Ernst Nursery was first known for landscape design and nursery stock with a retail operation. Later the nursery became a wholesale nursery specializing in potted flowering plants. The nursery was closed in 1977. Upon the closure of the nursery, Fritz switched to a career in medical equipment sales and service. He founded and operated EC Medical Products in Nashville, Tennessee for many years.

Fritz was first married to Jan Trittschuh of Muncie, Indiana. They had two daughters, Kristi Ernst Davis and Karil Ernst Willenbrink. In 1992, he married Judy Halfacre Cobb in Nashville, Tennessee.

He will be sorely missed by all his loved ones. He is survived by his wife, Judy; her son Joe Casey, and two grandsons, Max Casey and Dylan Casey, all of Tarzana, CA. He is also survived by his daughter, Kristi Davis, husband Monty Davis of Fort Collins, CO, granddaughter Katie Doherty, husband Ryan and great grandsons, Colin and Ethan (all of Bridgewater, NJ) and grandson, Alex Devol Davis of Fort Collins, CO as well as daughter Karil Willenbrink of Venice, FL and granddaughter, Karen Willenbrink of Jamestown, KY.

A gathering of family & friends for Fritz will be held Thursday, January 4, 2024 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home & Memorial Park, 660 Thompson Ln, Nashville, TN 37204.