Steven P. Ernst

Steven Patrick Ernst of Papillion, Nebraska died on October 5, 2025, at the age of 67. He was born on June 4, 1958, in Waco, TX to his parents Bill and Betty Ernst, joining his older brother Tim. They were in Waco for only a short time as Bill was in the Air Force and they moved frequently. One of Steven’s favorite moves was to Puerto Rico.

Steven graduated from Enid High School in Enid, Oklahoma in 1976 and went on to attend the University of Oklahoma in Norman for Electrical Engineering. He attended college on an Air Force ROTC scholarship with every intention of making the military a career and he made that dream come true. Going into the Air Force and being an engineer combined two great loves for him as well as following in the footsteps of two men he deeply respected: his father and his maternal grandfather, Jesse Langford. While at OU, Steven met the woman who would later become his wife, Carolyn Clark. Steven graduated in May of 1981 and went on active duty in August of that year. He and Carolyn would marry in September of 1982. Patrick, Weston, and Tyrus gave real life to this family when they came along a few years later.

Over the course of Steven’s twenty-three-year Air Force career, the family moved many times, traversing the country north-to-south and east-to-west. Each assignment brought adventures and Steven always managed to help the family embrace them all, be they cross-country skiing in North Dakota, sailing in Nebraska, swimming in a hurricane in Virginia, or backpacking in Colorado.

He started his military career as a missileer at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming and won the SAC Missile Competition in 1984 with his crew partner, Jan Kinner. (This is a huge accomplishment in the Air Force!) He served several tours with missiles, but also had engineering assignments, including a few years spent teaching Electrical Engineering at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Steven’s last assignment before retiring was as Operations Officer on the National Airborne Operations Center (NAOC). He found it a very nice change to work in the air rather than under the ground.

Though Steven had loved serving his country in the Air Force, he also loved that retirement gave him the opportunity to practice as a professional engineer. He worked at a few different places in civilian life but mostly made his professional home at BranchPattern in Omaha. Unfortunately, illness made continuing to work too difficult and in August of 2021, Steven retired. He continued to fight Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia for as long as he possibly could.

The great love of Steven’s life was his family. Just spending time together was what gave him joy, but when he was able to help his sons learn and grow that was the best. He loved teaching the three of them how to sail and work on their Scout projects and go camping with them.

When the Ernst family moved to Papillion for the first time in September of 1996, they found a wonderful church home at Faith Presbyterian Church in La Vista. Being a part of this community and being able to serve God through those connections and missions were very important to Steven.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Marjorie Elizabeth Ernst and Wiliam Lawrence Ernst; his stepmother, Trudy Ernst; his sister, Linda Cmehil; his aunt, Barbara Munday; his grandparents, Jesse and Marjorie Langford and Alfred and Irene Ernst; his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Bette Ann and Ted H. Clark; and his brother-in-law, Ted W. Clark.

He is survived by Carolyn, his wife of 43 years; his children Patrick Ernst and Jeanette Decker, Weston Ernst and John Loftus, Tyrus Ernst and Param Rabari; his brother and sister-in-law, Tim and Tammy Ernst; his brother-in-law, Andy Cmehil; and many much-loved nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, cousins and friends.

There will be a memorial service on Saturday, October 11, 2025, at Faith Presbyterian Church at 8100 Giles Rd in LaVista. There will be visitation at 10:00 with a service beginning at 11:00. A luncheon will follow at Wildewood Christian Church across the street, at 1255 Royal Dr., Papillion, NE.

Memorials can be sent to Faith Presbyterian Church, Parkinson's Nebraska, or The Lewy Body Dementia Association in honor of Steven.