Ernie married Marie Sullivan in 1954 and is the father of four children. The eldest, Jean Marie , married to Frank McKeamey, is a social worker at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown and has three children. Stephen, the second oldest, is an RCMP Officer living in Stratford P.E.I., married to Trish Bradley, and has two children. Greg, the second youngest, is a graduate of King’s College School of Journalism, works in commrmications and lives in Calgary. He is married to Lisa Frizzell. Mary Ellen, the youngest, is a social worker in Charlottetown having completed her Masters Degree in social work at Memorial University in St. John’s Newfoundland. She married Trevor MacLeod on June 23, 2001.

In terms of significant occurrences since graduation from SDU Ernie notes that his marriage to Marie, and the birth of their four children has been the most important aspects of his life.

The most enjoyable work and volunteer experience for Ernie was the rebuilding of family agency programs in the various cities where he worked in Canada The expansion of the Addiction programs to all three counties in RBI. and the creation of special facilities for severely damaged alcoholics in downtown Charlottetown and in Fredericton, P.E.I. were also rewarding as well as challenging. He joined with four other social workers in Sydney, N.S. to establish the Social Housing Association of CB. which provided over one hundred refurbished houses to the most poorly housed of Cape Breton families. Another memorable experience was being appointed by the Native Chiefs of RBI. to represent them on the National Native Alcohol and Drug Addiction Program which provided services on addiction problems on a national basis to Native People all across Canada.

Participation in campus life was a happy experience for Ernie. He was a member of the Championship 1947 Intramural Hockey team and also a member of what seems to have been the first Junior Hockey team at SDU a year later. In football, he was a member of the 1948 Intramural Champions. Ernie was elected to the executive of the Students Union in the position of Secretary Treasurer in his final year, following in the footsteps of his brother John S. who was President two years earlier. . There was much learning in these activities which stood him in good stead in the years to come.

Ernie says that the years at St. Dunstan’s were memorable not only because of the good times there and the lifetime friendships that grew out of living in residences, but what impressed him most was the quality of education that flowed from that little University. “It was quite remarkable that even those of us who were not particularly brainy filled leadership roles in many business and organizations across Canada and the United States. This is a direct result of the well rounded education we received from our days at SDU not only in the classroom but the late night discussions and gripe sessions that went on in every room. It was ‘The Little

Universng That Could’”