West Akron natives, John and Bev Earnest were first photographed as part of the Stay at Home series in March of 2020. A follow-up portrait followed just a few months after, when Bev retired from Summa where she had worked as a surgical tech for 48 years. The Earnests celebrated their 50th anniversary and Bev’s retirement with a block party. They have such a big footprint on the city, they needed a whole block to host their family and friends!
Over the past few years, the pair have been enjoying Bev’s retirement, but John started down a road of health struggles. He was experiencing a myriad of symptoms, but doctors were struggling to pinpoint the cause. Eventually he asked to get an MRI, which revealed a tumor.
“I’ve got a squatter in the penthouse,” John said. “It’s crazy how your life can change in a millisecond. A tumor has grown and consumed my medulla. Because of the location size, it is inoperable. They cannot do a biopsy. The risk is far higher than the reward. It would be like sticking a fork into the light socket. I don’t want me to be altered, so I just chose not to poke the bear.”
Bev expressed the fears, confusion, and stresses she has been processing since the diagnosis. Surrounded by people who want to help, but also want information, leads to many phone calls and messages. The two are worried about what the outlook is for John’s health, but still trying to enjoy the time they have together. July 21, 2025 marks their 55th wedding anniversary.
John’s reflections go beyond the pandemic. He reminisced about his wedding day, graduating from beauty college in the 70s, winning many awards in beauty competitions, and traveling for beauty shows. One of his biggest accomplishments in his career was that he was the first independent Black man to own a salon in the M. O’Neil Company in downtown Akron in the 80’s. The salon was called Black Hair Is. Earnest ran his own business for 50 years. The day he found out he had brain cancer was the day that he retired.
“The reward for my services is not the pay, I pride myself on giving my clients exactly what they want. I honed my skill so well that I’m able to listen and provide this service to every client. In my profession, we become robots because we are working with so many people, herding people in and out of the salon. We forget that we need to actually listen to what the client wants, and I’ve been consistent with that.”
“My favorite quote is from Mark Twain: “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” I found my why a long time ago and didn’t realize it. I continue to make friends that are solid friends. I have friends from 70 years ago that are still friends today. Children love and gravitate to me and never forget me. I consider myself a blessed man, I wouldn’t change a thing about my life.
To this day, I'm still able to communicate. I'm still able to walk, hold my wife's hand, look her in the eyes and know who she is. I'm not giving that up. Quality of life for me is more important than quantity. It’s time to get busy living and not busy dying.”
March, 2020
West Akron
July 2020
West Akron