Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend, Ernestine Folk Hook, 91, of Yorktown, VA, passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, February 14, 2021.

Ernie worked at the Navy Operational Support Center in Charleston, SC.  While there, she met and married her husband of 56 years, Walter Ray Hook.  They relocated to Virginia to work and to raise their family.

Family was the center of Ernie's life.  After raising her children, she went to college, earning a Bachelor of Arts from Christopher Newport College, of the College of William & Mary, and later, a Master's in Education degree from Old Dominion University.  She taught Social Studies at Poquoson Middle School and was voted "Favorite Teacher of the Year" by her students.  She loved helping kids understand a difficult concept and stressed the value of life-long reading.  Education was important to Ernie; her salary funded her children's and grandchildren's college tuition.

Ernie was a member of the First United Church of Christ in Hampton, Virginia for nearly 60 years.  She was actively involved with the church where she served on the Board of Religious Education and worked in the Women's Circle.

Ernie enjoyed life, hosting family get-togethers, gardening, boating and traveling the world with her husband, Ray, and playing bridge, earning masterpoints during tournaments.

Born in Bamberg, SC to the late John Lee Folk and Marie Love McMillan Folk, she is survived by her sons and daughter, Eugene Wayne Hook, and his wife, Ellen Smith Hook of Virginia Beach, VA, John Lee Hook and his wife, Bobbie Jo Hillman of Virginia Beach, VA, Russell Alan Hook of Hampton, VA, Janet Lynn Hook and her husband, Dr. Paul T. Golumbek of St. Louis, MO; her son-in-law, Philip McAllister Edwards; ten grandchildren; and thirteen great-grandchildren.  Ernie is also survived by her loving sisters, Naomi F. Dixon of Charleston, SC and Johnnie L. Hayes of Florence, SC.

Ernie was preceded in death by her husband, Walter Ray Hook, her daughter, Laura-Marie Hook Edwards, and her brother, W. Daniel Folk.

A memorial service will be held later this year in Yorktown, VA.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the First United Church of Christ in Hampton, VA.

Arrangements are by Berceuse funeral and cremation traditions in Hampton, 757-825-8070.