Ernestine Brummeler ’55 Richardson

Ernie was born April 9, 1934 in Redlands, California, the third of four girls born to Ernest and Elizabeth Brummeler. She attended Redlands High School, and Hope College in Holland, Michigan, the first in her family to attend college. Following graduation in 1955, she returned to Redlands where she was a teacher at Cope Middle School. Her favorite students to teach were 7th grade boys.

In 1958 she was set up on a blind date with Edward Richardson, a recently discharged Navy pilot, and they never looked back. In June 1959, Ed was hired as a pilot for Western Air Lines and after marrying on December 19, 1959, the couple moved to Inglewood, California and Ernie became a teacher at Morningside High School.

Shortly after the birth of their first daughter, the growing family moved to the Palos Verdes Peninsula in 1961. Ernie embraced the young and rapidly growing community, and was involved in every aspect of it, volunteering at Palos Verdes Hills Nursery School, Las Ayudas, Girl Scouts, Assistance League, National Charity League, the Palos Verdes Art Center, St Luke’s and St Peter’s by the Sea Presbyterian churches, the school system, and elsewhere. After her daughters moved on to college, Ernie became a successful Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker.

Ernie was a homemaker extraordinaire. In her spectacular garden she tended to roses, Sweet Peas, Iceland Poppies, fruit trees, and her vegetable garden. A talented and creative needleworker and seamstress, she made many of her clothes, and holiday dresses and Halloween costumes for her daughters. Engaging entertainers, she and Ed gave festive parties, and their beautiful home rang with the laughter of true and life-long friends. The very best family memories were created on their sailboat, the Wind Drift, summers were spent sailing to Catalina. Ernie and Ed were adventurous travelers, some of their most memorable trips include Syria, South Africa, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. However, their favorite place to be other than home, was Napili Bay on Maui, where Ernie would clean the store shelves of Kitch’n Cook’d potato chips.

Ernie suffered Dementia for several years, and died peacefully following a stroke on November 3, 2019. Her survivors; husband Ed, daughters Kathy (John) Erickson, and Kristen Richardson, grandchildren Nick Robelotto, Mitchell Robelotto, Brooke Erickson and Kevin Erickson, carry memories of a vivacious, big hearted, sassy, fun-loving wife, mother and grandmother. Her constant grammar corrections and her infectious laugh will forever ring in their heads.