Mrs. Ernestine Washington

WASHINGTON, Mrs. Ernestine - Age 89, passed away Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at McLaren - Flint. Family hour 12 p.m. Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at Christ Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, 317 E. Hamilton Ave., with funeral service commencing at 1 p.m. Dr. Mark A. Jones officiating. Interment Flint Memorial Park Cemetery, G-9506 N. Dort Hwy., Mt. Morris, MI. Friends and pallbearers will assemble at the church 12 p.m. Tuesday. Mrs. Washington will lie in state in the Chapel of Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home, 906 W. Flint Park Blvd., and may be viewed from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday. Mrs. Ernestine Payne Washington was born December 27, 1925 in Okolona, Arkansas to the union of Cleveland Payne and Nancy Stovall. She departed life May 6, 2015 at McLaren Regional Hospital. Ernestine continued her education after leaving Okolona at Dunbar High School and Dunbar Junior College, in Little Rock, Arkansas. While attending school she met Henry Washington, a returning WWII soldier and they married May 27, 1948. Ernestine began her career with the Flint Public School system as a Teacher’s Aide in the Head Start Program. She went on to become a Home-School Counselor at Dort and Pierson Elementary schools from which she retired. Mrs. Washington accepted Christ as her savior at an early age and remained active in the church her entire life. She was a faithful member of Christ Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church where she served in numerous youth and adult ministries. In addition to her active church life, Ernestine participated in the Flint School HOSTS mentoring program, Mending Hearts, Ophelia Bonner Scholarship Fund Committee, and Stepping Stones. Mrs. Washington also enjoyed travel, crafts, and entertaining. Mrs. Washington leaves to cherish her memory: children, Ray (Patrice) Washington of St. Charles, IL and Linda (Dwight) Robinson of Herndon, VA; grandchildren, Noah Robinson of Herndon, VA, Jonathan Washington and David Washington of St. Charles, IL; brother, Johnny (Samella) Payne of San Diego, CA; sisters, Della Horton of Okolona, AR, Dorothy (Bishop J. A.) Blake of El Cajon, CA, Shirl (Robert) Davis of Lorton, VA; sisters-in-law, Inez Melton of Minneapolis, MN and Ruth Washington of Tulsa, OK. Mrs. Washington was preceded in death by her husband Henry Washington; parents, Cleveland and Nancy Payne; siblings, Calvin Payne, Henderson Payne, Roy Neal Payne, Albert Payne, Clarence “Dick” Payne, Ernest Jewel Payne, and Velma Tidwell.

Mrs. Ernestine Washington

December 27, 1925 - May 6, 2015