Ernest Joseph Irving Sr.

Ernest Joseph Irving, Sr. peacefully passed on July 6, 2020 in Houston, TX, a mere seven days after the death of his beautiful wife Kathleen of 55 years. There's was a simple, old-fashioned love story that exemplified "Til Death Do Us Part". He was born into the beautiful union of Louis Irving and Josephine Landry.  He was one of 10 children which included four brothers: Louis Jr., Larry, Errol and Ronald and five sisters: Lois, Theresa, JoAnn, Patricia and Trena, all raised in the Ponchatrain Park neighborhood of New Orleans, LA.  The union of Ernest (Pops) and Kathleen (Kathy) produced four children: Ernest Irving Jr, Stephanie Blakes, Wayne Irving and Monique Wiltz and seven grandchildren: Wayne Irving Jr., Taylor Irving, Alexa Blakes, Orion Irving, William Blakes, Ethan Wiltz and Evan Wiltz, all lovingly referred to as "The Grands". He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Lois and brothers Larry and Errol, his loving wife and numerous family members. He is survived by his sisters Theresa, JoAnn, Patricia and Trena, his brothers Louis Jr. and Ronald, his children, grandchildren and countless nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family and friends. He was a Class of 1964 graduate of St. Augustine High School where he played both baseball and football.  He was well-known for his athleticism, personality and drive. After graduation, he joined the US Army and served in Vietnam. Upon honorable discharge, he settled in New Orleans and began work as a grocer at Schwegmann's Grocery. He was recruited by The French's Company where he worked for nearly a decade as their top salesman. After training many bosses, he joined the Barq's Company where he again excelled as a top salesman. He liked to joke that he was such a good salesman, he could sell ice to an eskimo. Unwilling to let discrimination and glass ceilings discourage him, armed with street smarts and the world's greatest sense of humor, he continued to excel in sales while taking an evening job as a waiter at the Royal Orleans Hotel. Still not satisfied with his career opportunities, he took on a third job teaching himself the art of custom jewelry design by cutting and setting pennies, then nickels then quarters.  His third job became a life-long passion and he opened his first jewelry store in his home garage. After years of working 2-3 jobs, he and his beloved Kathy decided to invest their life savings and opened Irving Jewelry Designers.  His hard work and determination was rewarded with a devoted clientele and the opportunity to design custom jewelry for some of the best known artists such as Master P, Mystical and Mia X to name a few, athletes and members of the Bayou City Community.  He was incredibly proud of his business and eternally grateful to the people of New Orleans for supporting his life-long dream of being his own boss. After Hurricane Katrina, he relocated to Houston,TX where he worked for a short time at the jewelry counter of JC Penney. That experience once again ignited his desire to be independent so he joined forces with his youngest son Wayne and opened Irving Jewelry which shared a storefront with Wayne's business, ComputerPros. His years of working side by side with his son were some of the happiest years of his life. He said the only thing better than having his own shop was sharing a shop with his son. He was also an avid lover of golf, movies, good food, poker, pool, scrabble, sports, politics, presents and any time spent with his seven, completely adored grandkids. A few years after opening his Houston business, his health declined and he began dialysis, followed by a quadruple bypass, partial blindness and the amputation of both legs.  If this were the biography of anyone else, it would likely end there. But this is Pops. Once again, because of his faith, drive, determination and love of life and family, he continued on. He was determined to recover enough to return home to his wife and family.  In October 2019, after two long years at the VA Hospital, he was released to Park Manor Nursing Home.  He shared a room with his beloved wife and they became the king and queen of Park Manor, sharing their love for each other, life and the Lord with everyone around them. Each M/W/F as he left for dialysis, his beloved Kathy who suffered from dementia would dress up pretty and sit and wait for him to return. They cherished every day together until, because of Covid-19, they were placed in separate rooms due to his increased risk from weekly dialysis. During their time of separation, he prayed through the difficulty and found complete comfort in God's grace. In his last days, he would often say he finally learned not to question God. He saw his life as a continual blessing and began to pray daily for those less fortunate than him. To say he was an inspiration is insufficient.  Pops was the child of God, husband, dad, entrepreneur, son, brother, uncle, cousin, competitor, friend, patriot, patient and employee we all aspire to be. He had an unmatched humor, brilliant mind, competitive spirit, good looks, generosity, athleticism, incredible drive, faith and determination that you had to see up-close to experience. True to his faith, he would give anyone the shirt off his back. His generosity was endless.  His life, love and wisdom boundless. He lives on in every one who had the privilege of being touched by him. We love you Pops. Always have. Always will. We miss you. Every day. Forever.