Last night I got the call I was dreading. Come to Madison as quickly as you can, Ernie doesn’t have long. I hastily packed a bag, bought a one way ticket on a red eye flight to Ohare and arranged for a rental car before driving myself to LAX. I landed at 0455 and made it into my rental car about 0545. It was a long drive to Madison and there were no updates on Ernie’s health, so I was optimistic. Hell, we had talked on Wednesday night for a good half hour. Ernie sounded good and his mind was sharp. He has always made his savings throw before when the medical staff predicted dire outcomes.
I made it to the edge of Madison before needing to make a pitstop to get water and something to eat. I was 24 minutes away when Heidi called and in a shaky, tearful voice told me Ernie had passed away. I was thunderstruck. As much as I had prepared myself for this news, I wasn’t ready. I made it to the hospital where a very kind volunteer escorted me to Ernie’s room where Donna, Elise and Bill sat somberly. After hugs and greetings we started sharing stories about Ernie and laughing at some of them. Ernie loved to laugh and entertain people, and he was very good at it. Shelby, the young chaplain, said that he was a special person as so many of the critical care nurses asked after him and many said he was the nicest patient they ever had. That was shortly before Shelby recited a beautiful poem and prayed with us around Ernie. I am glad I was able to see him one last time and thankful for the phone call Wednesday. I didn’t know that would be the last time I ever spoke to my brother.
What a life he led. Ernie played in the very first game of Dungeons & Dragons ever, along with our sister Elise. As we all know, Dad was an avid gamer- from miniatures,cards and board games to RPGs; and Ernie emulated that love of gaming and camaraderie from childhood. I remember him telling the story of how he cut his teeth on D-Day- literally. He was a toddler and kneaded on the chits to smooth his gums much to my Dad’s dismay. Ernie play tested D&D, created iconic characters like Serten and Tenser, adventured through Castle Greyhawk, tested out Metamorphosis Alpha, was the first manager of the Dungeon Hobby Shop- where he created his beloved Hobby Shop Dungeon, where I played my first magic-user, Zorko. Eventually he worked on the D&D cartoon for D&D Entertainment Corp out in Hollywood.
Ernie was also a good big brother, most of the time… He took me to see Star Wars in the theater when it first came out, he read books to me when I was too young to read well- Jack Vance’s Planet of Adventure was so cool! And he let me play D&D with him and the other older kids- like Neil Christiansen, and probably Jeff Leason and Tim Jardini amongst others. When I was in high school he would let me hang out at his place and drink a beer sometimes which gave me some cool points with my buddies. (If my daughters are reading this, it was a very poor decision and I am lucky I didn’t get myself in any serious trouble- I am glad you are much wiser young people). And of course we would play games- whether it was something like Snit Smashing or other fun Tom Wham games or AD&D.
Ernie loved AD&D and exclusively DMed it for most of his life. I remember how he roped me into DMing the weekly game at the Game Guild in the early 1990’s. Margaret Weis wanted him to run the ‘new” version of D&D- 3.0. Ernie was running the Hobby Shop Dungeon and definitely wasn’t learning 3rd edition or converting his dungeon. So we decided to create a new adventure campaign that I would DM, and thus Gaxmoor was born! I DMed for as many as 22 players at times. It’s hard to imagine that several of those lads are now parents who bring their kids to Gary Con.
I think that speaks a lot about Ernie and his character. He always made time for young gamers and encouraged them. He treated them as gamers who could figure out a way through the challenges and he didn’t pull any punches. Likely the first time these young people had a chance to interact on equal footing with adults (or older teens anyways). Those young folks loved the game and would come and talk and game with Ernie often. He kept that open and friendly demeanor all through his life. For three last several years he has relished hosting groups of gamers in his home where he ran epic 6,8, and 10 hour adventures!
Outside of gaming, Ernie led an interesting life to say the least. He shared much about that with friends in person and on social media. He embraced his gamer nickname, Ernie the Barbarian, literally. He would never do anything by half measures- if he was doing it then it was 200%. This presented many difficulties with alcohol and other substances. He was searching for something that always seemed to be out of reach and despite his jovial manner in most settings, there was something missing. That special something for Ernie was Donna. I remember how he spoke of her 7 or so years ago when they first met, and how it motivated him to be a stronger, better person. He decided to stop drinking alcohol entirely. He battled and beat cancer. And he soldiered on through numerous health problems with her love and support. For the last 18 months or more, the doctors stated he had days or weeks to live, but he defied those predictions. The happiest I ever saw him was at his wedding last year. He was beaming with joy, as was Donna. Ernie finally found exactly what he had been searching for all his life. And I am happy that they got to share the time they had together.
Ernie was a good man, an authentic personality and someone who lived to share high adventure with other like minded people. I know he is shaking dice with Jim Ward and Dad now. I love you brother.
I am so very sorry for their family.
