Obituary

Visitation for Mr. Williamson will be held on Thursday, February 23, 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., at Butler-Stumpff & Dyer Funeral Home, 2103 E. 3rd St., Tulsa, OK 74104.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, February 24, 11:00 a.m., at Greater Union Baptist Church followed by interment at Green Acres Memorial Gardens.

On November 15th 1958, Eartha Norman (McAlester) and Donald “Duck” Williamson were blessed with Ervin McAlester (Williamson) in Beggs, OK. He was the oldest of his mother’s three children. Soon after his birth, he and his family relocated to Tulsa, OK where he spent his adolescent years. He gave his life to Christ early in age as he was a member of Greater Union Baptist Church. He attended Charles S. Johnson Elementary, Hamilton Junior High School, and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1977.

Upon graduation, Ervin joined the military serving in the Army branch and had his first child Ervin McAlester (“Big E”). While in the military, Ervin Sr. was based in Norfolk, VA and also deployed to Germany. He continued his familial legacy with Ervin McAlester Jr, Keola McAlester, Paul McAlester, Jephthah McAlester, and Quentin McAlester. While in Virginia, he graduated from the King James Bible Institute in 1986 and was honorably discharged from the armed forces in 1986. After serving in the military, he relocated to Sallisaw, OK in the early 1990s to be closer to his mother. During this time, he served as a bail bondsman and sheriff for the nearby city of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

In the late 1990s, Ervin Sr. relocated back to Tulsa, OK where he spent the remainder of his life. He married Tammy (Barnett) McAlester and had his long awaited baby girl, Erica McAlester. Ervin Sr. worked for Green Country Interiors as a sheetrock finisher and painter before working for River Spirit Casino where he served as a facilities shift manager for 13 years. During this time, he also operated his own business known as “Empire International” where he continued to perform sheetrock finishing and painting for various families and businesses in the Tulsa area.

Ervin Sr. loved to work, spend time with family and friends, watch the Dallas Cowboys, served  in the ministry, became an ordained minister in 2014 and then became the Pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church in 2019. However, most of all, Ervin Sr. loved to sing and play his bass guitar. While his teen years were spent being the bass guitarist of the well-known North Tulsa band, Friction Band, he never lost his love of music as he formed his own band in his later years known as “7 Dayz”. Ervin Sr. and his band spent many nights practicing gospel songs in the garage of his family home as they rehearsed songs, such as “Heaven,” which he composed and produced in the early 2000s.

Ervin Sr. retired from his earthly vessel to walk the streets of gold in Heaven on February 13th, 2023. He is preceded in death by his mother (Eartha Norman), father (Donald Williamson), son (Keola McAlester), and other loving family members while he leaves his memory to be cherished by his children: Ervin “Big E” (Shannon) McAlester, Ervin McAlester Jr., Paul (Gabryl) McAlester, Jephthah (Andrea) McAlester, Quentin (Eboni) McAlester, and Erica McAlester. His legacy continues with his 10 grandchildren while the remainder of his family remembers him through memory including his two twin sisters Karon (McAlester) Allen and Sharon (McAlester) White, a host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.