Ernestiene Jessica Tolbert was born on September 25, 1949, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She quietly departed this life on November 3, 2020, at the age of 71, at AdventHealth Hospice Care in Altamonte Springs, Florida surrounded by her daughter and grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her mother, Josephine (Addie) Smith, her father, James Tolbert, and her sister, Donna Wilson.

Her beautiful life will forever be cherished in the lives of her child: Angelina (Myron) Floyd; grandchildren: Maximilian Floyd, Isaac Floyd, Mandel Floyd, and Chayce Floyd; her great-grandchild, Orion Floyd; brother, James Smith; sisters: Donna (John) Wilson, Lela (John) Birdsong, Judy (Doug) Fairbanks, Dorothy (Charles) Harris, Margaret Smith; along with a host of devoted nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Ernestiene attended Roosevelt high school in Dayton, Ohio, and graduated from Our Lady of the Highlands School For Girls Catholic high school in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. After graduating she moved to New York City, where she lived for 45+ years. During her long career, she was employed at such places as McGraw Hill, Paul Weiss LLP, and Mayer Brown LLP. In the early 80's she was integral in the vanguard word processing pools that utilized the very first IBM personal computers. She attended Nyack College where she enjoyed art and world history classes.

During her fulfilling and long life, she traveled to London, England; Milan, Italy; Copenhagen, Denmark, and many more fascinating places. Her warm and polished presence will be sorely missed.

Her life will be honored at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, November 16th at Annunciation Catholic Church in Altamonte Springs, Florida. The Funeral Mass service will also be live-streamed for her loved ones to attend virtually from around the country.

The family of Ernestiene Jessica Tolbert invites you to leave a message of condolence on the Tribute Wall created in her loving memory.