Ernest Poulson

1921 - 2020

Ernest L. Poulson
1921 ~ 2020
Ernest L. Poulson died in Salt Lake City, UT on January 1, 2020. He was born March 2, 1921 in Ephraim, UT where he enjoyed the normal freedom and activities of rural youth and attended Snow College. He joined a National Guard band unit as a snare drummer while in college because it paid $2.00 per meeting.
Ernie entered active military service in 1941 with his Utah National Guard at the age of 20, presumably for one year. Following Pearl Harbor, he left the band and entered pilot training and later went to Europe as a B-24 pilot. His combat career was cut short when his plane was shot down during a low-altitude bombing raid of the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, on August 1, 1943. He was wounded and suffered broken bones. He spent the next 13 months as a POW before escaping and returning to Italy. After the war, he served 20 years as a career officer in the USAF, earning numerous decorations and awards, including the Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart.
Ernie met his wartime sweetheart, Helen Lillywhite, in Phoenix while in pilot training there. They were married in December 1944 when he returned from the war in Europe. Together they moved often and traveled widely. Their four children were born in scattered locations: Annette in Salt Lake City, Steve in San Antonio, Tim in San Francisco, and Cindy in Paris, France during the family's three year stay there where Ernie, then a Lt. Colonel, served as Chief of the NATO Budget and Finance Division. His last assignment before retirement was Chief of the Atlas Missile Procurement and Production Division in Los Angeles, CA in 1961 as a Bird Colonel.
Following retirement from the military, Ernie spent 19 years at the University of Utah in various administrative capacities, including teaching in the College of Business. He earned BS and PhD degrees from the University of Utah and an MBA from Stanford.
Ernie had many hobbies including hunting and fishing in his early years, cabinet making, extensive reading and travel and a passion for golf and bridge. He had memberships in the Salt Lake, Willow Creek and Bloomington Country Clubs. Ernie had a special empathy for the visually impaired and was involved in various activities related to the blind for over 30 years. He took particular pride in having recorded over 85 full-length books for the Utah Library for the Blind. He also established and endowed a scholarship program for blind students at the University of Utah.
Ernie and Helen had been happily married for nearly 70 years when Helen passed away in 2013 from complications relating to Alzheimer's. A few years later, Ernie met Frances Muir at a mutual friend's 100th birthday party. Fran was a fabulous companion and the two of them enjoyed five wonderful years together, sharing intellectual and social interests both in Rancho Mirage, CA and Salt Lake City.
Ernie is survived by his four children: Annette Cumming (Ian, deceased), Steve (Marci), Tim (Diane), and Cindy Driggs (Warren), along with five grandchildren.
Ernie was a longtime donor and supporter of Compassionate Choices, an organization which supports the right to die with dignity. When his time came, he chose to accomplish his death with grace and dignity, and on his own terms.
At Ernie's request, there will be no funeral service. He has elected to have his body donated to the University of Utah Body Donor Program for research, a decision he believed will be his final contribution to science. His cremains will ultimately be interred at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park. A memorial service may be held at a later date.
Many thanks to Dr. Osman Sanyer and the caring staff at Sunrise Senior Living Center where Ernie lived the last twelve years of his remarkable life.
In lieu of flowers, Ernie would prefer a donation to the Poulson Family Scholarship for Visually Impaired Students at the University of Utah, c/o University of Utah Development, 332 South 1400 East, Suite 150, SLC, UT 84112