Joan Ernst

Joan Ernst was born on July 15, 1934, in Cincinnati, Ohio. She passed away peacefully with her loving family at her side on October 31, 2025, just a few days after suffering a stroke. Joan was an independent 91 years of age.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio as the only child of father Ralph and mother Iona Stirrat Ziegler, Joan had a rich ancestry of family immigrating from Scotland, England and Germany. Both sides of the Ziegler and Stirrat families converged toward the West side with grandpa Oliver Stirrat opening the California Cheese Co. bakery on Glenway Avenue. Joan grew up enjoying sweet bakery treats (namely cheesecake), trips on the metro bus into downtown, and rides up and down the Pricehill Incline to visit her Aunt Edith. Joan’s dad introduced her to golf in her teens, a pastime perhaps brought about by living their early years as a family two blocks from Maketewah Country Club. She graduated from Western Hills High School in the spring of 1952 and became a UC Bearcat the following fall, joined by a few best friends from high school. Joan pledged the Kappa Delta sorority and for the next five years her life was filled with the making of life-long friends, attaining her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and her Co-Op Program Certificate, including employment at the General Electric Company and Central Trust in the iconic downtown building. She spent summer days at Sunlight Pool in the company of her best friends, her mother being among them, and evenings dancing at Moonlight Gardens. Many hearts were broken when she met the love of her life Ed Ernst, an ATO at UC, on September 24, 1955, as she noted in her Campus Life Calendar.

Joan and Ed both graduated in the Spring of 1957; she began working and he went to complete Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, RI. They were wed in downtown Cincinnati on November 1, 1958, and lived for a short time in San Francisco, which Joan would forever say was her favorite city, and where Ed began his four year service commitment before his deployment overseas. Joan came back to Cincinnati to live with her parents until Ed’s end of active service and his return home.

The thirty-two years that followed witnessed the joys that come with growing a family. Joan placed family at a premium and gave it her all to make a beautiful home and create memorable traditions for Ed, their son Mark, and daughter Teri in the Cincinnati suburb of Mt. Airy. Her involvement in the school library and insatiable love of books might have been why she decided to gain her Masters Degree in Library Science, which many years later allowed her to become a librarian at the West Chester Library. By then she and Ed had moved the family out to the boonies of West Chester to a home on the Lakota Hills Golf Course.

Throughout Joan’s life she and her mom remained thick as thieves. As is often the case with such a close bond, it was Joan who cared for Iona when she became ill with cancer, staying at her side until her passing. The untimely death of Ed in 1994 was another sorrow she endured, but it was lightened by the blessing of her good friend Jo, who insisted she join her and her girlfriends as they traveled the world over the next several years, and also by the fact that she had acquired the name Gammy to eventually 5 precious grandchildren.

After moving 4 times in 10 years to various houses in West Chester, Joan finally purchased her “forever home” in Mason. She continued to host family gatherings, birthdays, and holidays in her traditional “Gammy” way, donning holiday hats and setting the table with treats and party favors, throughout the 20 years she lived there.

The past thirty-one years of Joan’s life were made rich with the many gifts God provided her: wonderful friends with whom she enjoyed 20 years of ushering at the Aronoff, Volunteering at West Chester Hospital, Investment Club and Poker Club; best friend Janet and next door neighbor Mildred, who were both integral parts of her daily life; her treasured yorkie Parsley and rescued dog Maddie, grandchildren who truly loved spending time with her and she with them, her ability to live independently (with the occasional assistance from her handyman son-in-law) despite vision issues, her gusto for “getting out and about” with her daughter come rain or shine, including, but not limited to, noble tasks such as the quest for the best BLT in Cincinnati, playing putt putt golf, meeting grandchildren and her son-in-law for lunches, exploring farmer’s markets, enjoying a nice glass of Pinot Grigio, and shopping at Dorothy Lane Market in Mason when it finally opened. Her family and friends enjoyed her quick wit, sense of humor and her playfulness. Having a privately strong faith and prayer life, she attended St. Anne’s Episcopal church and was confirmed there in 2006; she lived generously and supported St. Judes, The Boys Home, and the Healing Center of Cincinnati, donating bags upon bags of household items and clothing.

Some of the joys of her last few months were knowing that granddaughter Lizzie would be getting married, meeting great-grandson Cooper with the anticipation of more, walking her sweet dog Maddie, looking up at the uncommonly blue skies and white puffy clouds and feeling the gentle warm breezes that have marked this Autumn as the leaves are just beginning to turn, and the deep affection and love she shared with her family.

Joan was preceded in death by her parents Ralph and Iona and her husband Ed.

She is lovingly remembered by her son Mark (and daughter-in-law Euni), daughter Teri (and son-in-law Todd); cherished grandchildren twins Meghan (and her husband Ryan)

and Rachel (and their mother Lisa), Megan (and her husband Jason), Sam (and his wife Mikaela) and Lizzie (and her fiancé Grant); several great-grandchildren; and best friend Janet Killian.

Visitation will be held Tuesday, November 18, 2025, from 11:00am-12:00pm followed by a Celebration of Life at 12:00pm at the Mueller Funeral Home in Mason. A lunch for family and friends will be held immediately afterwards at Four Corners Church in West Chester.

In lieu of flowers the family asks those who are so inclined to please make a donation in Joan’s memory to the Warren County Animal Shelter in Lebanon, Ohio.