Ernest (Ernie) Elmer Frank Vatthauer was born on February 27th, 1930 to Henry and Laura (Hagl) Vatthauer in Red Lake Falls, MN. He attended Lafayette High School in Red Lake Falls, MN and was baptized and confirmed in the Presbyterian church.

Ernie worked on the family farm until he joined the Army. He attended basic training in Camp Robert, CA and was ultimately deployed to Okinawa, Japan to serve in the Korean War in 1953. After being discharged from the Army, Ernie returned to work on the family farm. He then met Theresa Efta and they were married on December 27th, 1965. Ernie was her right hand man and did everything he could for her right until the very end.

Ernie loved his family and did all that he could to provide for them. His actions spoke volumes about how much he cherished those he loved. He took great pride in his garden and in sharing its harvest with everyone. He also loved to play cards including pinochle, whist, smear and solitaire. He enjoyed many Christmas celebrations at the cabin, lots of trail rides with his granddaughter, and all of his hunting trips in MN, MT, and MO. One of his daily highlights was coffee each morning with his brothers and nephews.

Ernie was truly a man of hard work, courage, strength, sacrifice, generosity, stubbornness, and love for his family.

Ernie is preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Laura, his brothers Clarence and Dean, and his sister, Frieda.

Ernie is survived by his loving wife Theresa, his children James, Joan (Brian) Nelson, and Kimberly (Jeremy Brown), his granddaughter Allison (Sam) Santos, his sister Irene Rafferty, his brother Donald and many nieces and nephews.