Obituary of Ernest Remy

Ernest Remy was born on July 13, 1929 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti , the son of Duqueres Pierre and Odincia Remy. Ernest was the oldest of five children born to Odincia. A bright and industrious young man, at the age of 19 he became one of the youngest construction superintendents overseeing a team of skilled workers. He was an avid reader with a passion for music. Many an evening Ernest could be found entertaining his family and neighbors with a song and the graceful movement of dance. He loved to sing and dance romantic Latin/Spanish songs to his audience in the "La cour Vielot". In addition, he was an accomplished International Checkers player, having trained with Haiti's national and international champions. He continued to study and solve International Checkers problems as recently as early 2015. He was an astoundingly intellectual man with only an eighth grade formal education. Ernest met the love of his life, Denise, when she was 17 and he was 18. Clearly he wooed her with his musical grace and style. They began dating seriously in their 20s and married on December 1, 1956. They went on to have three children, Claude (Alix), Ernst (Boule) and Maike (Ti-Maike) while living in Port-Au-Prince. Ernest was well loved by all of the children in his family and neighborhood, many of whom looked to him for advice and dialogue. He was a very giving man, especially to children. Every Christmas he would distribute presents to all of the children of the family compound. He valued education highly and supported all educational opportunities for his sons, regardless of cost. Above all, that meant more to him than anything else in the world. Due to political unrest in Haiti, Denise moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1965. Ernest joined her in 1966 while family cared for their growing boys. On December 1, 1967 the family was reunited in New York, arriving at Kennedy Airport where the boys experienced their first snow. Ernest studied Dental Technology and achieved his Associates degree. He worked fashioning appliances in a dental lab for two years. Not finding satisfaction, he returned to his first avocation of construction management and remodeling until his retirement in 1995. In his retirement , Ernest was able to realize his dream of returning to his homeland of Haiti, building a home and living between there and Brooklyn for four years. During this time he was able to reconnect to the food, music and culture of his youth. The time spent with family meant so much to him. After an unfortunate accident he and his wife moved to Lakewood, Washington in order to be closer to his son and undergo intensive rehabilitation therapy. He enjoyed the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, especially the majesty of Mount Rainier. On Monday December 28, 2015 he passes away peacefully after a long battle with chronic illness. Ernest is survived by his wife of 59 years, Denise, his sons Claude Remy (Claire) and Maike Remy (Tammy), his sister Alice Perin, and was preceded in his passing by his son, Ernst Remy. He leaves behind his grandchildren Sharde (Jameal) Remy-Williams, Tamaira (Edward) Remy-Smith, Dominique Remy, Danielle (Jesse) Baker, Mary Denise Remy, and Nicole Remy. In addition he leaves behind two great-grandchildren, Christian Remy Williams and Maya Nicole-Remy Smith as well as many nieces, nephews and dear friends. Ernest (Tizou) Remy was a great husband, father, friend, and man!