Ernestine Purdy McCaskill, 96, popular hair stylist.

ERNESTINE McCASKILL fancied herself something of a card shark.

Pinochle was her game, and she was good at ignoring distractions to pursue her mastery of the cards, including the apparent efforts of her son-in-law, Ronald Nixon, to throw her off her game.

Ronald talked incessantly to disrupt her concentration, her family said, but she would say to the other players, "Aw, just let what he's saying roll off your back."

"She could make you laugh while playing any type of game," her family said.

Ernestine Purdy McCaskill, a hairstylist much sought after by loyal customers, and devoted matriarch of an extended family, died Friday. She was 96.

She was living at Shipley Manor Care in Wilmington, Del., but had lived for many years in West Philadelphia.

Ernestine was born in Philadelphia to Moody and Mary Purdy. Her father died when she was 4, and her mother later married William Jones, who raised her.

She graduated from Simon Gratz High School and went on to the Apex College, where she studied cosmetology. She became a licensed hairstylist and worked for eight years at a beauty shop at 56th and Race streets, West Philadelphia.

Ernestine married the late John Wesley McCaskill Sr., a World War II veteran, in 1946. He always called her "Ernie." They had two sons and four daughters.

Even after leaving the beauty shop and taking up the duties of a full-time housewife and eventual mother, Ernie's loyal customers wouldn't take no for an answer. They showed up at her home to get their finger-wave dos and other styles of the '50s and '60s that only Ernestine could create.

"Ernestine and her husband were very family oriented," her family wrote in a tribute. "They enjoyed taking their close friends' and neighbors' children, along with their own children, out on scenic rides to the park, Coney Island, holiday gatherings, picnics and to church.

"The McCaskill children always looked forward to their Sunday family ritual: Sunday School, church service, stop at grandmom's house to get a second sermon on education, and back home for dinner," her family said.

Sunday evenings were spent either on car rides to visit favorite cousins or sitting on the porch having family conversations.

"And with four daughters, you know those chats were highly entertaining," her family said.

Ernestine's spiritual journey began at First Colored Wesley Methodist Church in South Philadelphia. After the family moved to West Philadelphia, she joined the Greater St. Matthews Methodist Church.

"Ernestine was a kind, giving, reserved, and compassionate individual," her family said, "but if it was something she didn't want to do, you definitely couldn't persuade her to do it.

"She was a good listener, and if it was a topic she could speak on, she'd have a lot to say. Even though she was not able to interract with her great-grandchildren as much as she would have liked, she truly enjoyed listening to their conversations when they were around."

The staff of Shipley Manor, "once they got to know her, knew not to serve her meals unless there was something sweet on the tray. Sugar always came first with Ernie."

She is survived by two sons, John Wesley Jr. and Darryl; four daughters, Beverly McCaskill, Jocelyn Nixon, Millicent McCaskill and Najila "Cheryl" McCaskill; five grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

Services: 11 a.m. today at the Wood Funeral Home, 5537 W. Girard Ave. Friends may call at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Mt. Lawn Cemetery, Sharon Hill.