Mary Catherine Yost

Mary Catherine Yost of Hinsdale, IL, age 89, passed peacefully in her sleep on the morning of August 2, 2022. She was preceded in death by her beloved and devoted husband Herman (married 1956, died 2009), parents George and Catherine Comerford of Joliet, IL, and brother Edward (Private First Class, died in post-World War II Japan, 1947). She is survived by her five children (Helen, Joseph, Catherine, Edward, Martin), four nieces, 13 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, and their families.

As a full-blooded Irish-American, Mary proudly celebrated her heritage. Her great grandfather George Comerford immigrated to the U.S. and was one of the original founders of Minooka, IL. A business and railroad pioneer in Illinois, he is credited with bringing a general store, post office, and rail line to Minooka.
 

Mary trained as a medical technologist at St. John's Hospital in Springfield, IL, in a program coordinated with St. Francis Academy in Joliet. She worked in the lab for a few years, until choosing her highest calling to work at home, raising her children for 26 years. Mary diligently studied, tested, and maintained board registration with the American Society for Clinical Pathology for fifty years, and was recognized for her leadership of 4-H youth organizations. During the last four decades, she was an active member of St. Isaac Jogues Parish in Hinsdale.
 

Herman and Mary explored, worked, and lived throughout the U.S. with their children, and after retirement, they traveled the world and especially enjoyed natural places, national parks, and wildlife, and learning about the history and arts of diverse cultures. After health changes limited her mobility, Mary continued her active prayer life and pursued her interests through reading publications and watching films. Her family is grateful for her dedicated caregivers and the benevolence and affection of her neighbors in her later years. Mary’s children will always remember and honor her vitality, patience, adventuresome spirit, curiosity, generous laughter, and other traits that have inspired and challenged them.
 

Services and interment are private. Mary donated her body to medical science research, through the Anatomical Association of Illinois.
 

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