Residents here will celebrate the life of Gladys Ernst on March 10 at the Mount Forest United Church.
The town’s oldest resident, affectionately known by some as “Mrs. Mount Forest,” died on Feb. 20 at the Saugeen Valley Nursing Center. She was 105 years old.
Ernst was ambassador of Mount Forest Homecoming celebrations last summer when she rode in the parade. She was born in Mount Forest to parents John and Margaret Yungblut, who owned a butcher shop on the town’s Main Street.
Ernst graduated from Stratford Normal School in 1932 and, with the exception of a few years teaching and living in Fergus and Toronto, spent her entire life in Mount Forest. She returned from Toronto to marry prominent businessman Leverne Ernst in 1945. He, along with his cousin Russell, owned Ernst Brothers Foundry on Durham Street. Leverne died suddenly in 1966 at age 56.
Ernst continued to teach in Mount Forest until she retired at the age of 65, joking at the time she “had a few good years left” to enjoy retirement.
Known for the beautiful gardens at her family home and cottage, Ernst was an avid gardener well into her 90s, was an active member of the horticultural society and was a mentor to many Mount Forest gardeners.
She was also known for the daffodils she and her sister Kaye Crawford would bloom early each spring to decorate the Mount Forest United Church. To mark her 100th birthday, the horticultural society planted a lilac tree in her honour. Ernst was very involved with the United Church as a choir member and was awarded a life membership in the UCW.
She served in numerous community organizations over the years and once quipped that she had been president of everything in Mount Forest “except the fire department.”
She donated numerous items to the Mount Forest Museum and Archives, including photographs and a classroom door handle she had saved from the old public school when it closed in 1962.
Ernst’s only daughter Marilyn Dibbs is a teacher in Australia. The celebration of life will be held at 11am on March 10, with visitation from 10 to 10:45am. Arrangements are entrusted to the England Funeral Home.
