Ernest J. Domm Jr.

Ernie was a special person who was dearly loved by many. He possessed countless skills and had a tremendous talent of working with his hands. He was incredibly fun-loving and good-natured. He brought joy and humor everywhere he went. Ernie had many hobbies and passions. Above all, his greatest passion in life was the love he had for his wife Doris. Doris and Ernie spent over fifty wonderful years together.

Ernie proudly served in the United States Airforce. He was a very patriotic person who was proud to display the American flag. He would often love to wear t-shirts with the American flag too.

Ernie had a passion for fishing. He knew much about fishing and shared his passion for it with his grandchildren. When they were little, Doris and Ernie would often take their grandchildren to Homewood Izaak Walton Preserve. They shared many wonderful memories there. He also enjoyed taking his grandkids on bike trails. He had a lot of energy and enjoyed being productive. Another one of Ernie’s many loves in life was for cars. Ernie and Doris were proud members of Tri Chevy Association. Ernie was the proud owner of a 1957 Chevy Bel Air. Ernie’s car was black with raspberry interior. He took great pride in his car which he won numerous trophies for. Ernie and Doris made many friends in their club and cherished the memories they made. Ernie had an immense love for music. Whether he was driving in his car or working in his garage, music was always playing. He had a special fondness for Doo-Wop. He loved going to see his favorite groups live when he had the chance. His favorite groups included: The Drifters, The Platters and Gene Chandler. Ernie loved to relax in his chair with a big cold cup of Lipton’s iced tea and watch his favorite shows. Some of his top favorites included: Car 54 where are you?, The Munsters, The Beverly Hillbillies, Dallas, The Dukes of Hazzard and Svengoolie (whom he got to meet in person with his granddaughter Mary). He also loved old-school horror flicks like Frankenstein and Vincent Price movies. His ultimate favorite show was The Three Stooges. Ernie had a special talent for making a great Curley impression! He also had a huge love for cartoons. He absolutely loved Scooby Doo where are you? As well as The Flintstones. Ernie was just like a big kid. He loved to laugh, be silly and have fun. He also loved going to carnivals and riding the Ferris Wheel and Tilt-A-Whirl. He loved to play carnival games and was very good at them! When his grandchildren were little they would sit with Papa in his chair and stay up late watching Tales from the Crypt. They loved the excitement of watching something scary and eating lots of chocolate with their Papa late at night. Like Doris, Ernie was a die-hard Chicago Bulls fan. He and Doris would never miss a game. They had a blast watching the games in the Michael Jordan era. Ernie’s favorite player was Tony Kucoc. They loved getting a pizza from their favorite pizza place Roberto’s while watching the games. Ernie will be lovingly remembered by his family for being a major foodie! He loved Doris’ and Kim’s cooking and thoroughly looked forward to Thanksgiving and any family dinners. Ernie would carve the turkey every Thanksgiving and always did a beautiful job with it! He and Doris loved fast food. They loved to get White Castle, Taco Bell, Popeye’s and everything in between. He had a major sweet tooth and was never without candy in the house. He really loved strawberry Twizzlers and chocolate. He was always willing and happy to share his candy. He would also share his candy with the dogs! His favorite special treat were Kim’s special Heath dessert bars which she often made for him. He was always thankful for every meal that someone made him. Ernie had a huge soft spot for animals. He especially loved dogs. He had many dogs over his lifetime. He truly cherished his dogs and he and Doris took excellent care of them. A few of these dogs were: Queenie and Schatzi, (childhood dogs) Cindy, Sambo, Taffy and Rusty. He and Doris also enjoyed babysitting their granddaughter Bee’s dog Pixie and cat Cosmo. While Ernie loved every single dog he had a special fondness for Dachshunds. He and Doris went on to have a Dachshund theme collection which was displayed throughout their home. He would have loved and saved every dog if he could have. He and Doris would go to the woods by their home each day for years to hand-feed the deer. They looked forward to their daily interactions with the deer. Ernie liked watching birds and had a feeder outside his front window. It was very apparent not only how much Ernie loved animals but how much they all loved him. Ernie was an exceptional handy-man. No matter what needed to be done he was the man for the job. He was the one everyone called on. He was always happy to help without hesitation. He knew the correct tools for each job and always came prepared. His family would refer to him lovingly as, “MacGyver,” because he carried a pocketknife which often came in handy. There was nothing he couldn’t do and nothing he couldn’t fix. He was always willing and able to help. Ernie worked as a union roofer and even worked on top of the Sears Tower where he carved his initials. He would talk about how the people down on the ground looked like little ants! He also was a hard-working truck driver who worked in the quarry.

There are so many special things that will always remind us of Ernie/Papa. We will miss his talents. We will miss him talking about his hobbies. We will miss seeing him work on his projects in the garage. We will miss seeing him enjoy a big plate of food. We will miss him singing his favorite songs. We will miss seeing his kindness towards animals. We will miss hearing his goofy jokes. We will miss seeing him read his newspaper. We will miss seeing him wearing his flannels. We will miss his laugh. We will miss his hugs. We will miss everything about our dear Ernie/Papa whom we loved to pieces. We love you for eternity Ernie/Papa.

Ernie is survived by: Michael (Donna) Domm, Mitchell (Samantha) Domm, the late Greg and Kim. Grandchildren to Ernie: Bridgette “Bee” (Ralfie), Jack “Birdie”, James “Jimbo”, and Mary “Scooby” (Greg). Leah (Viet) Nguyen, Jodie (Beau) Birdsong, Christopher Domm, Sydney Roswick Sheldon Shaw. Great- Grandchildren: Natalie N., Lucy K., Serenity and Landon Nguyen, Braylon and Brantley Birdsong, Ethan, Karmen and Jayden Shaw. Ernie also had two baby great-grandsons on the way, baby Eddie and baby Greg. Ernie was also a cherished uncle to many nieces and nephews as well as a wonderful friend to many.

A Memorial Gathering will take place on Saturday, October 11, 2025 from 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. at Skyline Funeral Home, 24800 S. Governors Hwy., Monee, IL with a Memorial Service to begin at 1:00 P.M. Inurnment Skyline Memorial Park. For questions, please call 708-534-8256.