SOUTH HAVEN, MI — A 22-year-old recent graduate of Michigan State University and 19-year-old MSU sophomore will be remembered for the way they cared for others, as well as one another.
Kory Ernster, 22, of Novi, and Emily MacDonald, 19, of Columbus Township, had been dating for five years before they drowned at South Haven’s South Beach the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 8. The two were pulled from Lake Michigan by other beach-goers who attempted CPR before first-responders arrived.
Neither regained consciousness and both were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, police said.
Related: Police release names of 2 South Haven drowning victims
“They made it through so many obstacles,” Emily’s mother, Lisa MacDonald said. “They made it through the age obstacle, the distance obstacle, him going away to school, everything. They always talked about being together forever and now they are, sadly this way.”
The two, who were visiting South Haven on a family vacation with Ernster’s family, were swimming under a yellow flag warning on an overcast Monday at the beach. Had it been a red flag, they wouldn’t have been out there, MacDonald said.
“Both kids were good swimmers,” MacDonald said. “My daughter grew up on Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron and was very aware of currents. I just think it was one of those freak things where the undercurrent grabbed somebody, and we don’t know who first.
“Nobody has told us that they saw anything, and I don’t think anybody really did, because there were lots of people in the water and activity on the beach. Emily was a really good swimmer, so I’m just thinking she got pulled under and couldn’t pull herself back up.”
MacDonald and the couple’s friend, Mayson LeVon, both said they received notifications from the couple not long before they drowned.
“Emily had just liked something I posted on Facebook and Kory had just taken a snapchat photo,” MacDonald said. “I’m thinking they just hid their phones and belongings and went right out to the water after that. 911 was called at 12:39 (p.m.) about 10-15 minutes after (his snapchat) posted.”
LeVon said she had received a text from Emily MacDonald as well that morning, with a photo of her and Ernster at the beach and that she had just told her longtime friend she hoped they would have a good day, not long before her phone rang with the news.
“I was not expecting that phone call at all,” LeVon said. “I was devastated, my heart is broken. I can’t even wrap my head around it that she’s not here anymore and he’s not here.”
LeVon said she grew up with MacDonald and that the two would catch frogs together in MacDonald’s pond, ride horses and go camping.
“She always wanted to be there for everybody,” LeVon said. “I lost both my parents and she never left my side.”
Caring for others was a trait both had, according to those close to them. Both Lisa MacDonald and Kory Ernster’s father, Steve Ernster, said they have been flooded with texts, emails and messages over the past few days, many from the couple’s friends from college who they had not met previously.
“Several of Emily’s friends in her dorm mentioned how Kory would give them guidance and work through struggles they were having, give them pointers on how to get through their freshman year,” Steve Ernster said. “It’s hard to summarize someone’s whole life in an adjective, but overall, he was just caring.”
Ernster, who was at a nearby blueberry farm at the time of Monday’s incident with his wife Stephanie Ernster, said the couple’s son had a knack for lightening the mood.
“He was always really outgoing, always trying to get the laugh, not trying to be the center of attention, but bringing positive energy and positive emotions to the room,” Ernster said of his son. “All the kids that have been texting have said that he was always bringing comedy and fun spiritedness, saying silly stuff, goofy stuff, just trying to make people feel at ease.”
His son was also a perfectionist in some ways, Ernster said, and was really into shoes and very particular about how he dressed — and he hated getting stains on his clothes.
On Monday, Kory Ernster was enjoying his last day of vacation as he prepared to head back to Madison, Wisconsin where he had just started his first post-collegiate job after earning an engineering degree from MSU. He and MacDonald had chosen to go to the beach, despite it being cloudy, as they wanted to get that one last day together, Ernster’s father said.
The couple had plans to meet Kory’s younger sister Abby, his twin brother Kyle and his brother’s girlfriend there, but were the first to arrive at the beach. When his siblings arrived, they saw the couple being given CPR on the beach. They never regained consciousness after being pulled from the water, Steve Ernster said.
The drownings were the 32nd and 33rd in Lake Michigan this year and third and fourth in South Haven in 2022. A 7-year-old Texas boy and a 33-year-old Beaver Creek, Ohio man also drowned at the beach on July 13.
Related: Lake Michigan drownings in 2022 outpacing prior years
“As soon as Kory and Emily were pulled out, the flags were changed to red, I was told,” Lisa MacDonald said. “I understand things can change in a heartbeat, but people really need to be aware. I know that they didn’t enter the water clueless.”
MacDonald said she feels that given the history of drownings at the beach that there should be a lifeguard who can monitor the water as it changes. South Haven does not have lifeguards stationed at the beach.
Related: Lifeguards left out of plan for safety improvements along South Haven’s waterfront
MacDonald, who drove four hours across the state as soon as she received the news, said she was extremely grateful for Ernster’s parents.
“They were just so wonderful in caring about Emily and stayed with her at the hospital until I got there,” MacDonald said. “They never left her alone, took turns sitting with her, telling her she was loved, all while going through their own grief of losing their family member.”
It was that same gentle kindness that MacDonald will always remember Kory Ernster for.
“He was extremely kind and gentle, well-spoken and intelligent, just a really good person,” she said. “One of my favorite things about Kory was anything Emily wanted to do, Kory was up for it, whether it was a new experience or something he had done before. They were just right for each other.”
Whether it was Ernster — who was allergic to cats, according to his parents — adopting a shelter cat with her because of her love for animals, or their shared passion for helping others, or their love for MSU, the two just clicked and cared deeply for one another, she said.
“Thankfully they got to spend a lot of time together last year going to all the college events and just spending a lot of time together and I’m grateful for that,” MacDonald said. “Emily had a lot of tragedies in her life and going to Michigan State was the best thing that ever happened to her.
“MSU was Emily’s dream. Everything she owned was green and white. Every shirt she had was a State shirt. When Kory went there, it was perfect. She was determined to become a veterinarian.”
Emily MacDonald is survived by her older brother Brian and her mother, along with her grandmother, Patty Descheemaeker. She was proceeded in death by her father and grandfather.
A celebration of life for MacDonald is being held from 2-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 17 at MacDonald’s favorite park, Columbus County Park, 1670 Bauman Road in Columbus. The family is asking that, in lieu of flowers or gifts, donations be made to a scholarship fund Lisa MacDonald is creating on her daughter’s behalf. For more information on the fund, email LisMac@Comcast.net.
“Emily was an academic person, very successful in school, valued education and would often express she felt bad for kids that couldn’t go to college because of money or that didn’t have money to stay in college or had to work three jobs to go to school,” her mother said. “We had recently had a very big discussion about this and I want to do this in her honor so we can help those she cared about.”
A visitation for Ernster will take place from 2-6 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 14 at O’Brien-Sullivan Funeral Home 41555 Grand River Ave. in Novi. A funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday, Aug. 15 at Catholic Church of the Holy Family, 24505 Meadowbrook Road in Novi. A luncheon will follow the service.
In lieu of flowers, Ernster’s family is asking for donations to the Kory Ernster Memorial Scholarship, which is through the Novi School District.
“I’m just grateful that he met the ‘love of his life’ and I take solace that he was not alone,” Steve Ernster said of his son.
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