Ernest Nelson Carver passed away after a long illness on Dec. 6, 2024, at Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta.  

He was born on Sept. 13, 1946 in Calais, Maine. Ernie was the son of Rena Campbell Main, and he and his brother Allen were raised by their stepfather, Richard Main. He attended elementary school at Boothbay Center and Boothbay Region High School, but work and adventure beaconed him, so he quit school and decided to travel cross country with two friends, Ty Gray and Bob Dowdy. 

He wrote a note to his mother telling her he’d be back in a few months, and with ten dollars in his pocket, they drove from Boothbay to Alpine, Texas, before the engine in Ernie’s 1956 Pontiac Catalina burned up. The three young adventurers hitchhiked for about 90 miles and caught a train to California. Ernie found work building and installing liners in oil storage tanks and celebrated his 18th birthday by signing up for the draft.  

After a few months, Ernie decided it was time to come home and drove cross country to Boothbay, only to be greeted by his family and his draft notice. In 1966, he received orders to ship overseas to Vietnam and he proudly served with a mortar platoon in the 4th Infantry, 1st Brigade, 3rd Battalion, 8th Infantry, A Company (also known as the Dragoon 3rd/8th), which was part of an Incident Reactionary Force. The motto of the mortar men was, “High Angle Hell - We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we can do almost anything with nothing.” 

His outfit moved 21 times while serving in country and always an avid photographer, Ernie managed to capture much of his experience with his camera on Kodachrome slides, which are still as vibrant today as the day they were taken. He also actively corresponded with his mother Rena, who saved all his letters, and in essence created a time capsule of the Vietnam War through her son’s eyes. Ernie was discharged from the U.S. Army on Nov. 5, 1968. He was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Expert M-16, 2nd Class 81mm Mortars, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal for his service.  

After being home for three months, Ernie realized that there weren’t a lot of jobs available in Lincoln County, so he decided to go back in the Army. He was quite surprised when the recruiter told him, “We can’t use you, you don’t have a high school education, but the GI Bill will pay for you to finish school so you can re-enlist.” Ernie always thought that it was ironic that no one ever brought up the status of his degree the entire time he was in combat in Vietnam.

He took the recruiter up on his offer, but by the time he finished his GED six months later, he changed his mind about going back into the service, and instead traveled with Donn Page to Wallingford, Connecticut, where he worked as an auto mechanic for Babarino Pontiac and Chevrolet. Ernie later returned to the Boothbay region where he worked at Elmer’s Garage for the next two years. 

He then went to work for the Boothbay Harbor Water Department and married Vickie Sherman of Southport Island on May 15, 1976. They later had four sons - Dennis, Mike, Brian and Kevin. Ernie worked for Central Maine Power for 10 years, then in the early 1980s he started his own business, Carver Construction which he ran with his sons until his retirement. 

In his spare time, Ernie loved working on cars, motorcycles, going hunting and fishing. He was a member of the American Legion and was an avid baseball fan, and coached Little League and Babe Ruth for many years as part of the Boothbay Region Baseball Association. He was immensely proud of his four sons, which was only overshadowed when he became Grampy to seven grandsons.

Ernie was predeceased by his parents, Rena and Richard, and by his brother Allen Carver.

He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Vickie, and his sons and their families - Dennis and his partner, Lorraine Delaney; Michael, his partner Kasey Pacquette, and his grandsons - Julian, Tommy, and Donovan; Brian and grandson Chase; and Kevin, his wife Kate Brooks Carver, and grandsons - Charlie,Wyatt, and Owen. Sister-in-law, Paula Sherman and brother-in-laws, Roland Sherman and his wife, Stephanie, and David Sherman and his partner, Margaret Hoffman. Nephew Allen Carver and niece Shannon Ortiz from Connecticut 

At Ernie’s request, no funeral will be held and the family will host a celebration of life at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to help veterans in need of housing. Please make checks out to Boothbay V.E.T.S., Inc., P.O. Box 260, Boothbay, ME 04537 or to The Community Center, The Meadow Mall - 185 Townsend Ave. PO Box 335, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538. For both organizations please put Ernest Carver in the memo line so a donation list can be provided to the family. 

Arrangements are entrusted to Hall Funeral Home and Crematory, 975 Wiscasset Road, Boothbay.