Ernest Budd Williams was born in Fallon on Dec. 5, 1933, to William Otto Williams and Lena Louise Capucci. He was the oldest of three children, and was named after both his grandfathers – Ernesto Capucci who immigrated from Italy alone at age 13, and George Budd Williams. Because Ernie’s father was an equipment operator, the family lived in several small mining towns around Nevada and Utah before returning to Fallon. At age 17 he was deemed responsible enough to drive the school bus for the Sheckler district, something many older teens did in those days.
Following graduation from Churchill County High School in 1951, he moved to Hawthorne for a short time before enlisting in the U.S. Army. He served a peaceful tour in Germany from 1954 to 1956 as part of World War II occupation forces. He returned and settled in Fallon, marrying Arlen LaBounty of Hawthorne and established a home. They welcomed a daughter Kristen in 1959 and enjoyed many outdoor activities in the area like 4-wheeling and camping.
Ernie began working at Anderson Ford Sales in the 1950s and enjoyed a 40-year career with the Ford dealership as it evolved into Fallon Ford. He was the parts manager for many years but also served as the service manager at times. He enjoyed helping his community and was an early member of the Churchill County Search and Rescue and the CB Club.
He married his second wife Suella in 1979 and welcomed three stepchildren into his home, Christy, Aimee and Justin. He raised the kids like they were his own, and he led a solid, Christian home. He was a member of Christian Life Center church for many years.
Ernie was not idle – he enjoyed doing things. His most common saying was “You’re not working hard enough,” which was his answer to boredom. He enjoyed many hobbies over the years like gardening, woodworking, repairing audio-visual equipment for the school district … but his favorite hobby was trains. Ernie was fascinated with trains from a very young age, encouraged by his father.
Following his retirement Ernie worked as a handyman for the church and enjoyed his time as a “house husband” while his wife was still working. He and Sue enjoyed traveling in their camp trailer and visiting the West including a trip to Hawaii.
Ernie is survived by his wife of 45 years Sue, children Kris (David) Lahti, Christy (Stan) Lattin, Aimee (Steve) Schmidt, and Justin (Marcy) McDonald; sisters Mary Lou Cress and Jesse Reeves; grandchildren Natalie (Andrew) Clifton, Owen Ernest Lattin, Kasey Lattin, Adam McDonald, Matthew McDonald and Scott Schmidt; and great-grandchildren Joel Zumwalt, and Leah and Elijah Clifton. Ernie was preceded in death by his first wife Arlen, and grandson Barry Zumwalt.
The service for Ernie will be held Saturday, March 30 at 11 a.m. at Christian Life Center, 1435 Kaiser Street in Fallon. A celebration of life will follow in the church fellowship hall. Services will also be live streamed at fallonclc.org. In lieu of flowers, Ernie requested donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
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