Obituary of Ernie John Cusack

It is with profound sadness that the family of Ernest John Cusack announces his passing into God’s hands. Ernie (or Little Ernie, as his siblings called him) passed away unexpectedly but peacefully at home on January 6, 2021, in the arms of the love of his life. Ernie was born on February 18, 1948, to the late Ernest and Theresa (nee Doherty) Cusack. Ernie was raised in Fredericton and married his high school sweetheart, Gail, on July 18, 1970. In between working at Canadian Tire, The Rolling Keg, Elmtree Concrete, The Fastener Center, and running to ball fields from one end of the country to the other, they settled down in Beaver Dam and raised their two children. At an early age, Ernie excelled at sports and lettered at Albert Street Junior High in volleyball, basketball, and track. Ernie also loved rugby and played with the Fredericton Loyalists. Ernie began playing softball and, like every other sport, he excelled at it. He played with The General Dairies, The Diplomats, Labbatt Arms, and Rusagonis Alpines, just to name a few. He enjoyed reminiscing about his achievements on the field, both as a player and as part of his teams. On the field, he made life long friends like Reg, John, and Brian, to name a few. Ernie also served his community through sports where he volunteered countless hours coaching minor hockey and fast pitch. Many Saturday mornings were spent putting on pitching clinics, and Ernie loved it. Ernie’s greatest sports achievement was coaching the York Sunbury Red Sox. He spent 7 seasons working alongside his dear friend Ken to mentor and coach these young men into stellar athletes. They led them to a nail biting gold medal game at the Nationals in 1996 in St. Catherine’s, Ontario. "The boys", as he affectionately called them, along with Ernie and the coaching staff were inducted into the Oromocto and Area Sports Wall of Fame. Ernie was also selected as New Brunswick’s Coach of the Year. He and his teammates of the Fredericton Diplomats were bestowed the honour of being inducted into the Fredericton Sports Hall of Fame as well as the NB Softball Hall of Fame. Ernie was known as being a slugger and he lifted teams to victory with many homeruns, especially during the summer nights in Queen Square. In his retirement, Ernie enjoyed spending time with his wife, and they just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2020. They loved going to the lake and spending time with the Campers Cove family, whom he truly loved. He had amazing summers there playing golf with the boys, sitting around the fire, teasing Bobbi-Jo, Donna and the other gals, having the kids come up on the deck to visit him, and of course that cold Bud in his hand. Ernie’s greatest achievement in his heart was his kids and grandkids. He had special names for them like Maggie and The Little Guy (even after he reached 6 feet). His children, special nieces and nephews, as well as close friends are blessed with not only loving memories of Ernie, but these funny moments where you would be laughing until tears run down your cheeks. Many evenings were spent by a fire watching the kids skating at the beaver pond or behind the house. Ernie is survived by his wife of 50 years, Gail; son Christopher (Jennifer); daughter Catherine (Dave); grandchildren Caitlyn (Maggie), Aidan (The Little Guy), Gus, Marsh, Abbeygail, Owen, and Delaney; his fur babies Mister and Bear; special nephew Branton (Stephanie); siblings Andy, Brenda (Doug), Janice (John), Cora-Lynn (Mike), Margaret (Paul), Bobby (Marlene), and Beverly (Jeff); brothers-in-law Wayne (Donna), Currie (Deanne), and Mark; sisters-in-law Lona and Carolyn, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, Ernie was predeceased by his brother Kirk Cusack; brother-in-law Edinson Langley and sister-in-law Anne Cusack. Honorary Pallbearers: Reg Goodine, Robby Clark, Ken Cogswell, Brian Seeley, Branton Langley, Todd Daigle, John Gilles and Wayne Moore. To know Ernie was to truly love him. He was a huge character who enjoyed life, and when he loved you enough to tease you, then you knew that you were family to him. Ernie was a husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, brother, uncle, and a great friend and our lives will never be the same with him gone. We look forward to the day when we can all be reunited once more and see your smiling face again. A visitation will take place at McAdam's Funeral Home on Friday, March 12, 2021 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. A Memorial Service will be held at the Rusagonis Baptist Church on Saturday, March 13, 2021 at 11:00 am. Due to limited seating at the church, please call the funeral home at (506) 458-9170 to reserve a space for the memorial service. To watch a recording of the servoice, please follow this link: https://vimeo.com/523212039 In lieu of flowers, donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be greatly appreciated by the family. Online condolences may be left at www.mcadamsfh.com