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In Memory of Born: January 25, 1939 - Died: December 18, 2013 Obituary
As a child, Ernestine joined Amity Baptist Church under Rev. James R. Moore, where served on the Junior Usher Board and was part of the Youth Fellowship. After graduating from Jamaica Vocational High School in 1956, her excellence in typing and shorthand led to a legal secretary position with the American Civil Liberties Union and a 38‑year career at the New York Port Authority as one of the first African-American legal secretaries. While at the Port authority, she worked for engineers at JFK and LaGuardia airports, as well as the World Trade Center in New York City. In 1962, Ernestine married Daniel Edward Clemons from Andersonville, GA. Together they had a son, Wayne Edward Clemons on March 19, 1965, with whom she had an unbreakable bond. Ernestine was a lifetime lover of the arts. She played the violin as a child and loved the theater, opera, and classic movies. Her family members have many memories of spending days in her living room watching movies like Gone with the Wind and taking trips with her to Broadway and the Metropolitan Opera. She also loved to travel with family and friends and took many wonderful journeys throughout the United States, Europe and Africa. Many people in her life experienced being lost with Ernestine but her sense of adventure and unflappability made those moments enjoyable and full of laughter. Ernestine was never at a loss. for, words and loved to share her opinions about everything. She was also quite the storyteller who loved to tell vivid tales about her travels, her family, and her childhood in New York. She also loved to tell scary stories and her children, nieces and nephews all have fond memories of laughing and being afraid while she told them. After she retired from her job in the early-1990s, Ernestine's love for children led her to become a foster parent. At that time, three wonderful sisters came into her life—three-year‑old Diane, and infants Khyaisa, and Shyaisa. Their bond was so strong that she eventually adopted the girls. Her desire to provide the best education and quality of life for her children led her to move from Queens to Middletown, NY and later to Fayetteville, GA. Ernestine's family and friends will forever remember her beautiful smile, the twinkle in her eyes, her sense of humor her infectious laugh, her funny "holier;" and her overwhelming generosity. She leaves to mourn son Wayne; daughters Diane, Khyaisa and Shyaisa; grandchildren Erika, Natasha, Christopher, Daniele, Tristan and Trinity; sisters Thelma Jones (Harold), Elaine Blocker and. Laraine Harrison; brothers Edward Blocker (Claretha) and Ronald Blocker; uncle Curtis Blocker (Mary); great-aunts Hazel Cadle and Gladys Williams; nieces Darla Jones, Lena Jones, Dawn Ritter, Dina Hardy, Angie Hewlett, and Elease Blocker; nephews Terence Blocker, Mark Harrison, Eric Blocker and Kevin Blocker; cousins Rev. James Blocker and Ernest Darby; and a host of other relatives and friends.
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