Jeannette Young Yeckel

March 26, 1932 - November 26, 2022

LA JOLLA — Jeannette Young Yeckel, born Jeannette Marie Young, left us on November 26th, 2022 at the age of 90. She died as she had lived, with dignity and grace. She is mourned by her husband Donald, children (James Yeckel, Nancy Farrar, Gretchen Housley, Suzanne Quirk, Mark Yeckel, Andrew Yeckel, and Jennifer Mahajan), as well as their spouses and families. We are all poorer for her leaving.

Jeannette was born in Rochester, New York, on March 26, 1932, the second oldest (and oldest daughter) of 6 children of Walter and Lucille Young. Walter was a master welder, Lucile a housewife. Jeannette did not go to college after her graduation from Our Lady of Mercy High School in Rochester. With her bright and inquisitive mind she would have flourished in college, but in her generation girls from working class families seldom attended college. After brief employment as an executive secretary, she devoted the rest of her long life to serving the community and nurturing the lives of her husband and children. Undaunted by having had 7 children in less than 8 years and despite serious health problems, she raised 7 healthy and normal children, who in turn had healthy and normal marriages and families, with grandchildren and great-grandchildren in large numbers (now approaching 30). How could it have been otherwise with her gentle but firm presence? She had increasing health problems late in life, culminating in being bed bound with 24/7 caregivers for more than 3 years. She accepted her condition with remarkable grace. Perhaps her best epitaph is a plaque that her caregivers created when she died:

“Dear Jeannette: You will never be forgotten. Mrs. J. You taught us to be Strong, Joyful, Brave, Thankful, Kind and Always Sweet. Thank you for being an example of how to be grateful in life even during difficult times.”