Born March 22, 1933 in West Jefferson, Ashe County, North  Carolina, Ercie Waylene was the youngest child of Bessie Sallie Faw and Walter Wellington Goodman.

Ercie had six brothers and two sisters all raised in a home down a long dirt road. She didn't graduate high school, but Ercie worked the family farm raising chickens and hogs and harvesting crops such as vegetables and wheat. She and her mother cut and cleared trees by using mules to remove them from the forest. Her father was frequently away with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) a program in the 1930s to put Americans to work during the Great Depression.

Ercie moved to Kannapolis with her sister Faye where she met Paul after he got out of the Army. She was 19 and he was 27-years-old. For Ercie, it was love at first sight. She knew she would marry Paul. They joined in union March 29, 1952 and moved to Kansas City where Ercie worked as a waitress before the couple returned to North Carolina.

In Kannapolis, she worked at Cannon Mills and together, Ercie and Paul made their home on Central Avenue and had five sons, Paul Jr., Phillip, Troy, Tommy, and Jeffrey.

Ercie's heart was shattered the day her husband went home to be with the Lord March 2, 1993. But she knew they were Heaven bound and would be together forever.

She leaves behind a legacy of 14 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren

All who loved her knew she had an infectious laugh, nurturing hard-working hands, a fire in her belly, a feisty youthful spirit, a love for her husband Paul in her soul, and devotion to Jesus in her heart.

She left this Earth September 22, 2020 to reunite with her true love.

Hartsell Funeral Home of Concord is serving the Carter family.