Ernest P. de la Bretonne Jr., known to everyone as Ernie, passed away on Sunday, July 27, 2025. Ernie was born on July 6th, 1942, in Seattle, Washington. His family moved to Richland in 1944, where Ernie resided for most of his life. Ernie spent his childhood in Richland and graduated from Columbia High School (Richland High) in 1960 and then attended Northwest Nazarene College (NNU) in Nampa, Idaho. It was there he met the love of his life Marilyn. They were married on August 4, 1962, and then spent the next 63 years building a life together and raising their two children, Cheri and Rick.

Ernie loved everything to do with electronics. If something were broken, he would fix it or learn to fix it. He combined his love for electronics together with his career as he worked for the City of Richland for over 20 years starting as an electronic technician and retiring as a systems foreman.

After Ernie’s retirement, he and Marilyn spent their time traveling North America, visiting over 40 states, Canada, and Mexico. He was even able to fulfill his longtime wish and eventually made it to Europe, twice. As he got older and travel became more difficult, he and Marilyn loved to go to their favorite spot on the Oregon Coast, Lincoln City, so they could walk the beach together collecting shells and especially agates.

In his personal life, you could find Ernie in his workshop building something for his garden or, more likely, restoring old radios. The family was not surprised when Ernie and Marilyn returned from a vacation with radio parts, radio repair books, and on “an occasion or two” an old radio he wanted to restore. The many beautiful radios in his home are a testament to his skill and care. Ernie also loved to read true-life adventure stories, sailing and sailboats, fishing, and spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandson. He hardly ever missed a game, concert or event that showcased his grandchildren. He was a proud Grandpa and Great-Grandpa to all who would listen. Ernie will lovingly be remembered as someone who could always be counted on to lend a hand. Whether that involved changing lightbulbs in the extremely high ceiling at church, fixing anything electrical or simply being there when someone asked for his help. He was your guy.

He is survived by his wife Marilyn, his children Cheri Masters and Rick (Oneida) de la Bretonne, grandchildren Brandon, Tyler, Julia, Gabriel, Gracie, great-grandson Henry, sister Patty de la Bretonne, brother and sister-in-law Jerry and Laurene Stanford, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ernie P. Sr, and Inez Collicott de la Bretonne, and his sister, Irene D. Hays.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ernie’s memory to either The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research or the American Cancer Center.

The family would like to thank Visiting Angels for their care and comfort for Ernie during the last few weeks.

A viewing will be held at Einan’s Event Center on Tuesday, August 5th from 4 to 7 pm.

The graveside service will be held on Wednesday, August 6 starting at 3 pm at Sunset Memorial Gardens followed by a reception at Einan’s Event Center in Richland.