Ernest G. Higley, 92, Cummings, KS, passed away Thursday, January 14, 2016 at Easton Country Care, Easton, KS.

Funeral service will be 2:00 PM, Monday, January 18, 2016 at Cummings Christian Church, Cummings, KS, with Minister Dave Ludwig and Pastor Jason Terpak officiating.  Burial will follow at Pardee Cemetery.  Family will receive friends from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, Sunday, January 17, 2016 at Becker-Dyer-Stanton Funeral Home, Atchison, KS.  In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Cummings Christian Church and may be sent in care of the funeral home.  Online condolences may be left at www.beckerdyer.com.

Ernest was born December 12, 1923 on the family farm in Cummings, KS, the son of Asaph “Dick” and Josephine (Hamm) Higley.  He graduated from Atchison County Community High School in 1941.  He enlisted in the Army Air Corp and served four and half years as a mechanic during World War II.  In Paris, Ernest met his future bride Blanche Pinguet when he rescued her from a flat bicycle tire, she later came to the U.S. and they were married on December 18, 1946.  Ernest was a farmer and a mechanic and an active member in the Cummings Christian Church.  He also served on PCA Board in Holton for a number of years and Pardee and Cummings School Boards.

Ernest and Blanche were blessed with five children, Marcelline Vaughan, Effingham, KS, Linda Hittle, Dewey, OK, Kathy Miller, Yukon, OK, Jean Higley, and Glenn Higley, Independence, MO, seven grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers; Harold and Claude Higley and two sisters; Clara Ellerman and Marie Shaver.