Winifred Yorchak obituary: Winifred Yorchak's Obituary, Denver
In Memory Of
Winifred Yorchak
1926 - 2014
In Memory Of
Winifred Yorchak
1926 - 2014
Winifred Theresa Yorchak, 88, of Aurora, Colorado, passed away Friday, December 12, 2014.
Winifred was born September 6, 1926 to the late Michael Power and Mary Bridget O’Keefe Power in Atherton, England, United Kingdom.
Winifred was the 10th of 11 children in her family, and the last surviving child of Michael and Mary. Preceding her in death were her siblings Julia, William, Norah, John, Laurence, Patrick, Mary, Sheila, Elsie, Noreen and Anthony.
When Winifred’s mother died in 1950, she went to work to help support the family. While waiting for a bus one rainy English day after work, she met a U.S. serviceman who gave up his dry spot in the bus canopy and proceeded to capture her heart – Nicholas Yorchak of Johnstown, PA. They were married November 4, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York.
Military life took them first Florida, where their first child, Michael Anthony, was born in September 1954. Moving back to England with the service, John Paul was born February 1956 and Dorothy Ann was born September 1957. Life became even busier when the family moved to Kansas and Anna Maria was born in September 1958.
Unfortunately, her husband contracted cancer shortly after that, and the family moved to Denver for treatment at the military hospital there. Nicholas died August 14, 1960, leaving Winifred with four young children under the age of 6. Winifred’s sister Sheila had moved to Denver with her military husband and was a great support to Winifred and the family during those years.
While life was not easy during those years as a single mom, Winifred rose to the occasion and her family was the most important thing to her. She had many offers to date, but as she always said, “We’re a package deal – all 5 of us”. She was able to make sure all her children had a Catholic education – that was a priority for her. All the priests and nuns at St. James Catholic School knew that the best tarts were always brought in by the Yorchak children. All the children have fond memories of summer vacation trips on the train to Glenwood Springs, as Winifred was not fond of driving on the highways. Winifred’s brother Tony came over to the U.S. in 1968 from New Zealand to help Winifred with the family. They lived together until Tony’s death in 2011.
Winifred always loved anything Irish (since her own mother was born in Ireland) and would often tell people that her “other” name was Colleen, and that she was “three-thirds Irish”. She loved shamrocks, Country Rose English china, making tarts, fixing a “spot of tea” (always in a real china teapot with a tea cozy), making knitted slippers for the extended family, Christmas dinners with roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and English Crackers. She worked part-time in later years at The English Shoppe, but spent all her earnings on favorite items for the grandchildren – like chocolate buttons, chocolate flakes, and “true” English tea.
Winifred is survived by her four children: Michael Yorchak (Angie); John Yorchak (Marilee), Dorothy Lewis (John), and Anna Marie Roberts (Lloyd, deceased).
She is also survived by eight grandchildren: Cheri Yorchak (Tommy), Michael Yorchak, Sarah Gockley (Brian), Nicholas Yorchak, Justin Gardner, Alex Yorchak, Katherine Lewis, and Meredith Yorchak. Winifred also has two great-grandchildren: Redmond and Marek.
Memorial donations can be made to St. Pius X Catholic Church for student tuition assistance.
A funeral mass will be at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Aurora, Colorado on Mon, Dec. 29th at 10:00 am.
A private family burial at Ft. Logan National Cemetery will be held at a later date.
To leave a message for Winfred's family press the "Share Memories" button above.
Winifred was born September 6, 1926 to the late Michael Power and Mary Bridget O’Keefe Power in Atherton, England, United Kingdom.
Winifred was the 10th of 11 children in her family, and the last surviving child of Michael and Mary. Preceding her in death were her siblings Julia, William, Norah, John, Laurence, Patrick, Mary, Sheila, Elsie, Noreen and Anthony.
When Winifred’s mother died in 1950, she went to work to help support the family. While waiting for a bus one rainy English day after work, she met a U.S. serviceman who gave up his dry spot in the bus canopy and proceeded to capture her heart – Nicholas Yorchak of Johnstown, PA. They were married November 4, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York.
Military life took them first Florida, where their first child, Michael Anthony, was born in September 1954. Moving back to England with the service, John Paul was born February 1956 and Dorothy Ann was born September 1957. Life became even busier when the family moved to Kansas and Anna Maria was born in September 1958.
Unfortunately, her husband contracted cancer shortly after that, and the family moved to Denver for treatment at the military hospital there. Nicholas died August 14, 1960, leaving Winifred with four young children under the age of 6. Winifred’s sister Sheila had moved to Denver with her military husband and was a great support to Winifred and the family during those years.
While life was not easy during those years as a single mom, Winifred rose to the occasion and her family was the most important thing to her. She had many offers to date, but as she always said, “We’re a package deal – all 5 of us”. She was able to make sure all her children had a Catholic education – that was a priority for her. All the priests and nuns at St. James Catholic School knew that the best tarts were always brought in by the Yorchak children. All the children have fond memories of summer vacation trips on the train to Glenwood Springs, as Winifred was not fond of driving on the highways. Winifred’s brother Tony came over to the U.S. in 1968 from New Zealand to help Winifred with the family. They lived together until Tony’s death in 2011.
Winifred always loved anything Irish (since her own mother was born in Ireland) and would often tell people that her “other” name was Colleen, and that she was “three-thirds Irish”. She loved shamrocks, Country Rose English china, making tarts, fixing a “spot of tea” (always in a real china teapot with a tea cozy), making knitted slippers for the extended family, Christmas dinners with roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and English Crackers. She worked part-time in later years at The English Shoppe, but spent all her earnings on favorite items for the grandchildren – like chocolate buttons, chocolate flakes, and “true” English tea.
Winifred is survived by her four children: Michael Yorchak (Angie); John Yorchak (Marilee), Dorothy Lewis (John), and Anna Marie Roberts (Lloyd, deceased).
She is also survived by eight grandchildren: Cheri Yorchak (Tommy), Michael Yorchak, Sarah Gockley (Brian), Nicholas Yorchak, Justin Gardner, Alex Yorchak, Katherine Lewis, and Meredith Yorchak. Winifred also has two great-grandchildren: Redmond and Marek.
Memorial donations can be made to St. Pius X Catholic Church for student tuition assistance.
A funeral mass will be at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Aurora, Colorado on Mon, Dec. 29th at 10:00 am.
A private family burial at Ft. Logan National Cemetery will be held at a later date.
To leave a message for Winfred's family press the "Share Memories" button above.
Winifred Theresa Yorchak, 88, of Aurora, Colorado, passed away Friday, December 12, 2014.
Winifred was born September 6, 1926 to the late Michael Power and Mary Bridget O’Keefe Power in Atherton, England, United Kingdom.
Winifred was the 10th of 11 children in her family, and the last surviving child of Michael and Mary. Preceding her in death were her siblings Julia, William, Norah, John, Laurence, Patrick, Mary, Sheila, Elsie, Noreen and Anthony.
When Winifred’s mother died in 1950, she went to work to help support the family. While waiting for a bus one rainy English day after work, she met a U.S. serviceman who gave up his dry spot in the bus canopy and proceeded to capture her heart – Nicholas Yorchak of Johnstown, PA. They were married November 4, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York.
Military life took them first Florida, where their first child, Michael Anthony, was born in September 1954. Moving back to England with the service, John Paul was born February 1956 and Dorothy Ann was born September 1957. Life became even busier when the family moved to Kansas and Anna Maria was born in September 1958.
Unfortunately, her husband contracted cancer shortly after that, and the family moved to Denver for treatment at the military hospital there. Nicholas died August 14, 1960, leaving Winifred with four young children under the age of 6. Winifred’s sister Sheila had moved to Denver with her military husband and was a great support to Winifred and the family during those years.
While life was not easy during those years as a single mom, Winifred rose to the occasion and her family was the most important thing to her. She had many offers to date, but as she always said, “We’re a package deal – all 5 of us”. She was able to make sure all her children had a Catholic education – that was a priority for her. All the priests and nuns at St. James Catholic School knew that the best tarts were always brought in by the Yorchak children. All the children have fond memories of summer vacation trips on the train to Glenwood Springs, as Winifred was not fond of driving on the highways. Winifred’s brother Tony came over to the U.S. in 1968 from New Zealand to help Winifred with the family. They lived together until Tony’s death in 2011.
Winifred always loved anything Irish (since her own mother was born in Ireland) and would often tell people that her “other” name was Colleen, and that she was “three-thirds Irish”. She loved shamrocks, Country Rose English china, making tarts, fixing a “spot of tea” (always in a real china teapot with a tea cozy), making knitted slippers for the extended family, Christmas dinners with roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and English Crackers. She worked part-time in later years at The English Shoppe, but spent all her earnings on favorite items for the grandchildren – like chocolate buttons, chocolate flakes, and “true” English tea.
Winifred is survived by her four children: Michael Yorchak (Angie); John Yorchak (Marilee), Dorothy Lewis (John), and Anna Marie Roberts (Lloyd, deceased).
She is also survived by eight grandchildren: Cheri Yorchak (Tommy), Michael Yorchak, Sarah Gockley (Brian), Nicholas Yorchak, Justin Gardner, Alex Yorchak, Katherine Lewis, and Meredith Yorchak. Winifred also has two great-grandchildren: Redmond and Marek.
Memorial donations can be made to St. Pius X Catholic Church for student tuition assistance.
A funeral mass will be at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Aurora, Colorado on Mon, Dec. 29th at 10:00 am.
A private family burial at Ft. Logan National Cemetery will be held at a later date.
To leave a message for Winfred's family press the "Share Memories" button above.
Winifred was born September 6, 1926 to the late Michael Power and Mary Bridget O’Keefe Power in Atherton, England, United Kingdom.
Winifred was the 10th of 11 children in her family, and the last surviving child of Michael and Mary. Preceding her in death were her siblings Julia, William, Norah, John, Laurence, Patrick, Mary, Sheila, Elsie, Noreen and Anthony.
When Winifred’s mother died in 1950, she went to work to help support the family. While waiting for a bus one rainy English day after work, she met a U.S. serviceman who gave up his dry spot in the bus canopy and proceeded to capture her heart – Nicholas Yorchak of Johnstown, PA. They were married November 4, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York.
Military life took them first Florida, where their first child, Michael Anthony, was born in September 1954. Moving back to England with the service, John Paul was born February 1956 and Dorothy Ann was born September 1957. Life became even busier when the family moved to Kansas and Anna Maria was born in September 1958.
Unfortunately, her husband contracted cancer shortly after that, and the family moved to Denver for treatment at the military hospital there. Nicholas died August 14, 1960, leaving Winifred with four young children under the age of 6. Winifred’s sister Sheila had moved to Denver with her military husband and was a great support to Winifred and the family during those years.
While life was not easy during those years as a single mom, Winifred rose to the occasion and her family was the most important thing to her. She had many offers to date, but as she always said, “We’re a package deal – all 5 of us”. She was able to make sure all her children had a Catholic education – that was a priority for her. All the priests and nuns at St. James Catholic School knew that the best tarts were always brought in by the Yorchak children. All the children have fond memories of summer vacation trips on the train to Glenwood Springs, as Winifred was not fond of driving on the highways. Winifred’s brother Tony came over to the U.S. in 1968 from New Zealand to help Winifred with the family. They lived together until Tony’s death in 2011.
Winifred always loved anything Irish (since her own mother was born in Ireland) and would often tell people that her “other” name was Colleen, and that she was “three-thirds Irish”. She loved shamrocks, Country Rose English china, making tarts, fixing a “spot of tea” (always in a real china teapot with a tea cozy), making knitted slippers for the extended family, Christmas dinners with roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and English Crackers. She worked part-time in later years at The English Shoppe, but spent all her earnings on favorite items for the grandchildren – like chocolate buttons, chocolate flakes, and “true” English tea.
Winifred is survived by her four children: Michael Yorchak (Angie); John Yorchak (Marilee), Dorothy Lewis (John), and Anna Marie Roberts (Lloyd, deceased).
She is also survived by eight grandchildren: Cheri Yorchak (Tommy), Michael Yorchak, Sarah Gockley (Brian), Nicholas Yorchak, Justin Gardner, Alex Yorchak, Katherine Lewis, and Meredith Yorchak. Winifred also has two great-grandchildren: Redmond and Marek.
Memorial donations can be made to St. Pius X Catholic Church for student tuition assistance.
A funeral mass will be at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Aurora, Colorado on Mon, Dec. 29th at 10:00 am.
A private family burial at Ft. Logan National Cemetery will be held at a later date.
To leave a message for Winfred's family press the "Share Memories" button above.
Services & Gatherings
Memorial Service
Monday, December 29, 2014 at 10:00 AM
St. Pius X Catholic Church, 13670 E. 13th Place Aurora, CO 80011
East Metro Chapel (720-857-0700) is assisting the family
East Metro Chapel (720-857-0700) is assisting the family