A Life Filled With Love And Service
By Carson Comick
the life of William Philip Ervin
5/23/1918-12/1/1968
William Philip Ervin, or Bill as he was known by many, was born on the 23rd of May 1918, in San Diego.[1] He was born to William Silas Ervin and Blodwin May Higbie. The following year, his sister Ellen was born. In 1923, his sister Marjorie Blanche Ervin was born. William Ervin lived in California until he served in the military in 1944 at the age of 16 years old. William joined the US Marine Corps and achieved the rank of Private First Class in World War Two. At the time of enlistment, William worked at the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation located in San Diego. The Consolidated Aircraft Corporation developed planes to defend the US mainland as the US tried to stay neutral at the start of World War Two. Once the US became involved in the War, they transitioned to making bombers and other planes to support the war effort.
After William Philip Ervin returned from service, he moved to Denver, where he met his future wife, Donna B Ervin. The two met in1952 while they both lived in boarding houses on Pennsylvania Street in the Capitol Hill area of Denver. The boarding houses were separated by gender, but both genders ate meals in the girls’ house, and at one of these meals, Donna and William first met and quickly began dating. On April 19th 1953, Bill and Donna were married at the old Rockland Community Church near Genesee Park. They would reside in the Genesee Park neighborhood, near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, until they purchased a property in the Bergen Park area and built a house. William and Donna tried many endeavors to make money, such as raising mink for fur, but the market eventually crashed, so they moved on to other career opportunities. William gained employment as a surveyor, and Donna worked as a bookkeeper for the Mount Vernon Club. The Mount Vernon Club was a beautiful private recreation club where families could go to enjoy the untamed beauty of the Rocky Mountains.
In 1963, Donna gave birth to a child named David, who passed away only a day after birth. Two years following this, Donna and William had another child named Christopher Philip Ervin. Following Christopher’s birth, William fell ill and was diagnosed with leukemia,which led to his passing in December of 1968 in Denver, Colorado, at the age of 50. William Philip Ervin was survived by his wife Donna B Ervin, who lived until 2016, and his son Christopher Philip Ervin, who still resides in Colorado. William and Donna were buried next to each other at Fort Logan National Cemetery.
Footnotes ↓
– 1] Materials for this biography can be found at:
https://www.mountvernoncc.com/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=70&ssid=100210&vnf=1 https://www.newcomerdenver.com/obituaries/donna-ervin https://sandiegoairandspace.org/exhibits/online-exhibit-page/world-war-two-in-san-diego-consolidated https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/WILLIAMPHILIPERVIN/AD38C4E https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/G64M-P57/william-philip-ervin-1918-1968
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