In 1951, Ervin quit playing the music and began playing the field. He "robbed the cradle" by marrying Jane Bernards on November 11,1953. They shared the same birthday and 37 years of marriage. Mom was 19 years younger than Dad, and he always called her "baby."

Together they raised four children:

• Kevin Ervin (born 2-5-1955), 

• Charlene Jane (born 12-14-1956), 

• Beverly Ann (born 8-13-1959),

• Jan Marie (born 2-10-1963). 

Christmas 1967: Kevin, Charlene, Jan, Bev

Dad farmed all his life, and he also did commercial spraying. Dad worked hard, and worked hard at keeping us on the straight and narrow. ("If you're going to do something, do it well." "If you want a job done right, do it yourself." "A place for everything, and everything in its place.") Dad always did what he thought (KNEW) was right. He had very high standards and great integrity. He expected us to always do our best.

In 1975, he had open heart bypass surgery at St. Vincent Hospital in Portland. That began the era of Dad as a heart patient. His recovery was as difficult for us as it was for him. Dad needed to slow down and relax; if the heart attack didn’t kill him, the recovery surely would! But survive he did… for fifteen more years and through his first four heart attacks. (His fifth and final heart attack was November 26, 1990.)