After a long battle with cancer, Mike Ernst passed away at age 74 on July 5, 2009. Family and friends showed their love for him through an outpouring of tribute gifts.

The Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation has, to date, received 80 tributes totaling more than $4,700 in memory of Mike. These gifts are designated to the Brenda Ernst Nursing Education Endowment Fund for students of Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College. Brenda has a rich history with the college, beginning with her graduation from Jewish Hospital School of Nursing in 1961.

After Brenda retired from Barnes-Jewish Hospital in 1998 following 36 years of service—including 20 years as Vice President for Nursing—she served a term as president of her college alumni association. She also assisted with the merger of the Barnes and Jewish Hospital nursing school alumni associations, and now serves on the college’s Board of Trustees.

“Mike was very supportive of my nursing career, and proud of what I accomplished,” Brenda says. “He understood my love of the profession, the school and the hospital.”

An insurance salesman for Union Central Life Insurance and an avid athlete who won national championships with Amateur Athletic Union senior basketball teams, Mike knew many people around St. Louis and never met a stranger. He gave generously to many charities and was a loyal fan of Saint Louis University Billikens basketball.

Through a business associate, Mike became involved with Covenant House, a privately funded nonprofit agency providing shelter and other services to homeless, runaway and “throwaway” youth. Mike began by volunteering for a golf tournament fundraiser and eventually came to serve on the Board of Covenant House in St. Louis. This organization also received more than 60 tribute gifts in Mike’s memory.

Through the years, Brenda and Mike have been dedicated supporters of her scholarship—even joining the Foundation’s Legacy Circle by making an estate gift. For Brenda, the connection she and her husband shared with Barnes-Jewish and nursing education gives deeper meaning to the gifts for her scholarship made in memory of Mike.

From Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation Tributes Newsletter--Second Quarter 2009