It is with great sadness we share that our dear beloved mother, Irene Ester (Koch) Ernst, passed away peacefully in her home in Lebanon, PA, on Sunday, October 2nd, 2022. Momma was born on September 6, 1929 in Galatia, Kansas, the daughter of Philip and Caroline (Miller) Koch.

Momma proudly served her country in the Women's Army Corps. She enlisted in 1951, and worked as a nurse in military hospitals in Colorado, Texas and Germany. She attained the rank of Sergeant before being honorably discharged from the Army in 1956. After taking time off to raise her two daughters, Diane Linda Ernst Chobanoff and Kathleen Ann Ernst Gildersleeve, our mother returned to her profession as a Licensed Practical Nurse for over twenty-five years before retiring from the VA Hospital in Lebanon, PA.

Our parents met while both were serving in the U.S. Army, and Momma married Lewis E. Ernst in Paris, France in March of 1958. Their first daughter, Diane, was born in Paris, and their second daughter, Kathleen, was born in Ft. Lee, Virginia. Throughout our father's distinguished thirty-two year military career, our family lived at various military installations in Virginia, Japan, Germany, Massachusetts and New York before Daddy retired in Pennsylvania.

Momma is also survived by her sister, Julia Fraizer, who lives in California, and Diane's three children – Mitchell Ernst, Anna Chobanoff and Thomas Chobanoff. All three grandchildren reside in Pennsylvania.

In addition to her immediate family, Irene Ernst was loved, admired and respected by many, and will be greatly missed by all.

Funeral services will be held privately. Thompson Funeral Home, Inc. is entrusted with the arrangements. Please share your memories with the family at our online guest book at thompsonfuneralhomelebanon.com