Ernest Gilbert Bianco

Ernie was an eager and enthusiastic participant in life, reaching out to love and learn, to discover and to impact. He was a fun guy who was engaged with people and activities. He loved trivia and crossword puzzles. He read voraciously including the WSJ cover to cover every day. And did he love baseball! His favorite author was Canadian Robertson Davies. He said daily prayers every morning and compline every night. He and Mother Mary had a fast friendship formed thru his daily Rosary. Ernie loved his family. Born in Elmsford, NY, he was the middle child of Kate Salerno Bianco and Ernest Orestes Bianco. Ernie spoke often of the loving family his parents provided to him and his two sisters. Big sister Marie Bianco Celani died in 2011 in Rome; kid sister Virginia Bianco Pappalardo lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Ernie and Mary Ellen Healy began their own family after marriage in 1950. Together they parented three children, all of whom survive their father. Mary died in 2007. • Son Michael Thomas Bianco and wife Lisa live in Anchorage, Alaska • Daughter Marianne/Mimi and husband Al Wilce live in Villa Hills, KY. • Daughter Melissa/Lissy and husband Bobby Campbell live in Richmond, VA with their youngest son Ernie, his grandfather's namesake. Ernie loved his grandchildren, offering daily prayers for their spiritual and physical health. Lissy and Bobby's clan numbers five: • Daughter Mary Rose Schwarb, a PA, and her husband Roger a Maryland State Trooper, live in Reisterstown, MD, and are the proud parents of Ernie's three great grandchildren, Camille, Claire, and Roger the third. • Daughter Abigail Dryden, a USNA grad and her husband Corbin, also a USNA grad, are expecting their first child. Abi and Corbin live in Newport, RI. • Son John Elijah Campbell is a Marine Captain, stationed in 29 Palms, CA. Johnny served bravely during an Iraq deployment and 2 deployments in Afghanistan. • Daughter Virginia Camille Campbell lives and works in Washington, DC as a consultant with Ernst & Young. She and fiancé Ty Denoncourt are planning a December wedding. • Youngest son Ernest Gilbert Campbell, age 12, lives with Mom and Dad in Richmond, where he is busy with several sports, including wrestling and football. Son Michael proudly boasts of the remarkable maturation and come-back of his son Nicholas Joseph Bianco. Nic lives in NJ where he works and attends college. Daughter Jennifer and husband Tom live in Lakewood with son Sidney, age 10. Jenn works in construction; Tom is a commercial banker; Sid has just achieved a Black Belt in taekwondo. As a member of the Greatest Generation, Ernie lived a chronology shaped by WWII. High school friends missed graduation from Elmsford High in 1942 and sacrificed their lives and their future to a war that forever changed the political and social structure of the 20th century. After a year at Fordham University, Ernie served briefly in the US Navy. He spent 1 yr on active duty mustering out the Marines at the close of the war. Ernie then moved into reserve duty for one additional year. After the service, Ernie returned to his studies at Fordham in 1946, graduating in 1949. Ernie loved to learn. His love of learning took him to graduate school at Columbia University, where he studied engineering during 1952-53. Ernie's career spanned work in chemistry to work in nuclear energy, then to product development at GE in new ventures. in the late 60's he founded MetriData Computing and Watterson College, both in Louisville, KY. After MetriData was purchased by Meidinger and Associates in the early 70's Ernie became a consultant to corporations, assisting them with the investment strategy of their employee retirement programs. Becky and Ernie met at Meidinger where Becky was an Associate Consultant with Ernie's guidance and mentoring. The next few years were tumultuous. Ernie and Mary divorced in April, 1980, after almost 30 years of marriage. Becky and Ernie were married in August of 1980, at which time Ernie became the proud step-father of Becky's daughter Jennifer, at 10 at the time of the marriage. Ernie took on his last employment as a consultant at The Frank Russell Company in Tacoma, WA beginning in the fall of 1984. Ernie, Becky and daughter Jennifer have made their home in the Tacoma/Lakewood area since that time. Daughter Jennifer and husband Thomas Kuljam have lived in Becky and Ernie's former Lakewood house since shortly after the birth of their son Sidney, now 10. After a final assignment as Director of Russell Japan in Tokyo, Ernie retired from consulting in 1992 to begin a second career as a friend of the community. Ernie gave his time and talents to several organizations, spending many years on their boards, serving as finance chair and development chair. Ernie served on the boards of The Children's Museum of Tacoma; MultiCare Health Foundation; Associated Ministries of Tacoma; Tacoma Actor's Guild; Foss Waterway Seaport; and as vestry member of St. Mary's Episcopal Church where he was also a lector. Ernie loved God. Like most people, parts of his life were lived without reference to God. But when Ernie found God -- again, or maybe for teh first time -- he was the enthusiastic and faithful participant in a vibrant relationship wiht the living God. He became an Oblate in the Order of St. Benedict in 2003. Matthew 25 was his guidebook for service to others. He invites you to share your expression of sympathy through a donation to St. Martin's Abbey, c/o Abbot Neal Roth, 5000 Abbey Way SE, Lacey, WA, 98503; OR St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, 5715 108th St. SW, Lakewood, WA 98499. Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 11:00AM on Friday, April 5th at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, 5715 108th St. SW, Lakewood, WA 98499.