This is one of those times when the news just really takes the wind out of your sails. Just months short of seeing her son's story immortalized in theaters around the country, Marie Fleming, the mother of Ernie Davis, has passed away. According to her nephew, she died after a bad fall. Marie and Ernie moved to Elmira, NY in the 1940s where Ernie became a multi-sport star. He caught the eye of Syracuse University's football program and the rest was history. Many are chiming in with their memories of Marie, most of which revolve around her love for her son, who died so young and with so much promise ahead.
"She was very caring and very interested in everything Ernie did...She was just very proud of him, not only because of his football prowess, but because he was such a good young man...She was a very strong person. And handled things beautifully...You could see she grieved over his illness and his death. But she handled it very well." - Louise Harrigan, widow of Davis' high school coachMay 18th will be the 45th anniversary of Ernie Davis’ death from leukemia. While that has always been a day to remember Davis, one could assume that it was really October 3rd, the day The Express hits movie screens, that Marie was most looking forward to. While she'll miss the chance to see her son's story and the good that came from it reach the masses, ultimately she didn't need to. She lived it.
"A lot of [Ernie Davis'] wonderful characteristics came from Mrs. Fleming." - Jack Moore, Ernie Davis' classmate.
(Photo Credit: Elmira Star-Gazette)