 Shahid married Margaret Pharo of Birmingham, Alabama, in 1942 and served in the Army Air Corps between 1943 and 1945.Following his military service the Shahids moved to Birmingham where Ernest worked at his father-in-law's five-and-dime store.There he had three children, Ernest Jr, Wayne, and Cary and three more once he relocated to Destin; Mark and the twins (Lisa and Lynda).