Registrar's Office Staff Member Ernestine Daniel Passes Away

Ernestine Daniel

Many Mississippi College students, faculty and staff members will never forget the cheerful birthday cards coming from Ernestine Daniel over the years.

Batches of fresh-baked cookies she regularly delivered to her colleagues, students and other MC people across the Clinton campus were among other heart-felt acts of kindness from this precious Christian lady.

Members of the Mississippi College family were saddened to learn that Mrs. Daniel died last Friday at the age of 90 in Starkville following a brief illness.

During more than 20 years working behind the scenes in the registrar’s office, Mrs. Daniel was known as an incredibly hard worker with a knack for making people smile and brightening their day. Her fresh-cut flowers were practically a daily staple at the registrar’s office.

“Mrs. Daniel was one of the sweetest ladies you could ever meet,” said Ron Howard, vice president for academic affairs. “She was always cheerful and ready to lift your spirits with a big smile and happy word. We always enjoyed her company immensely.”

The former dean of students at Mississippi College, Tom Washburn first got to know Mrs. Daniel as an undergraduate and enjoyed her friendship during the 19 years he worked at the Christian university.

“MC had a treasure in the registrar’s office,” Washburn said of the gracious Mississippian known as “Mrs. Ernestine” to some admirers and “Mrs. D” to others.

“Her gentle influence lives on in the lives of so many who saw her Lord Christ in her everyday life,” said Washburn, a 1981 MC graduate who’s now the senior adult pastor at First Baptist Church in Jackson.

Mrs. D’s cookies were a hit with everybody taking a bite. Her endless supply included cookies with walnuts, chocolate chip cookies, and the fruitcake variety. You-name-it, she baked it.

“Her cookies were wonderful - baked with love and shared with grace,” Washburn said. “Mrs. D was a constant inspiration to countless faculty, staff and students. She was ever encouraging.”

Mississippi College staff members, including Jeannie Lane and Cindy Hampton, treasure the years they spent with Mrs. Daniel.

“She was a gracious Southern lady with an infectious laugh, a heart of gold and a genuinely sweet spirit,” said Lane, an administrator in the Mississippi College Graduate School.

Hampton, the trainer/help desk coordinator in the office of computer services, was a 20-year-old when she first worked with Ernestine Daniel. They spent 21 years together in the registrar’s office and their friendship lasted beyond her retirement from MC.

“I have so many wonderful memories,” Hampton said “I will always cherish her friendship and fine Christian example.”

She loved that Mrs. Daniel often brought fresh roses and other flowers from her garden in south Jackson. Her greeting cards were priceless, too. “She never missed my birthday or anniversary or that of anybody else,” Hampton said. “This dear lady surely kept the postal service in business.”

Mrs. Daniel was “an amazing lady and an amazing cook,” Hampton said. “Nobody could make cookies any better.”

Away from Baptist-affiliated Mississippi College, Ernestine Daniel was devoted to her church and family. A longtime member of Alta Woods Baptist Church in Jackson, she taught a children’s Sunday school class for many years. A resident of Jackson from 1957 until she moved to Starkville in 2008, Mrs. Daniel was a resident of Carrington Nursing Center until her death. The Meridian native was buried in her hometown in East Mississippi on Monday.

Family was a big part of her life. Mrs. Daniel raised two sons, Bob of Atlanta, and Tom of Starkville, after her husband, H. Dalton Daniel, died in 1966. She’s also survived by six grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Student Ministries Missions at Adaton Baptist Church, 1975 Highway 182 West, Starkville, Mississippi 39759.