Ernest W. Van Matre(1939-2016)
Ernest (Ernie) W. Van Matre, 76, of Ontario Oregon passed away Thursday, March 3, 2016, in a local hospital.
Ernie was born November 7, 1939, in Ontario, Oregon, the son of Elvin and Verna (Skinner) Van Matre. He was raised in Fruitland, Idaho, and was a proud 1957 “Grizzly” graduate from Fruitland High School. He attended College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho. The second semester of his sophomore year he had the opportunity to participate in an exchange program with other small liberal arts colleges. He attended Fisk University for a semester, an all-black college in Nashville, Tennessee. Forty years later, when his wife was attending a conference in Nashville, she visited the Fisk campus and the . . .
