Yolanda Rose Jeselnick, a passionate pioneer for services to rural, older, and poor citizens in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania died on Thursday, January 17, 2019, in Saint Marys, PA. She was 94.
She was a fierce advocate for Senior Citizens beginning in the early 1970s. While having no formal college education, she was visionary to see the changing times required innovative services providing retirement low-income housing, home meal delivery, transportation and community health services to an aging in-place population. Working primarily in a men’s world, she would never be intimated by those who were not accustomed to an out-spoken woman determined to push politics aside to further the needs of the elderly who had no voice.
Yolanda was born on December 10, 1924 in Saint Marys, PA, a small mountain city two hours northeast of Pittsburgh, PA. She was the eldest of two daughters of Leonard (Bucky) Boland, and Thelma (Lombardo) Boland. She had one younger sister, Eugenia (Jean) Crites of Buffalo, NY.
She was a life-long resident of Saint Marys, and a resident of Silver Creek Assisted Living residence from 2013. She is survived by nine children: James (Mary Kay) of Chesterton, IN; Fr Stephen of Colorado Springs; Mary Jo (Jim) Ford of Newport, PA; Anne (Christopher) Wildfire of Mount Lebanon, PA; Paul (Andrew) of Denver, CO; Julia (Ken) Kosowski of Linglestown, PA; Mark of Pittsburgh, PA; Gregory (Angela) of Camp Hill, PA; and Dona (Paul) Lewis of Mechanicsburg, PA; a sister-in-law, Barbara of Naperville, IL; 16 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and her extended family.
She was preceded in death by her parents, sister, and her husband, Edward, after 55 years of marriage; and three sons: John (Barbara) of Naperville, IL, and Thomas and Andrew of Pittsburgh, PA.
At age four, Yolanda entered the first grade at Sacred Heart Catholic Elementary school; and graduated Co-Valedictorian from Saint Marys Public High School in 1940. She worked at Airco Speer Carbon as a pool secretary, and later worked with one of the original three IBM computers in Saint Marys.
When WWII ended, she married Edward Stanley Jeselnick, a Navy veteran, and skilled machinist, at Sacred Heart Church on September 1, 1946; and together they raised 12 children. She would often remark it was never her intention for a large family; but her abiding faith in her God and church were her guiding star.
With all her children in school, Yolanda began her amazing career when she was hired as a census-taker visiting rural families throughout many counties of western Pennsylvania. She was shocked at the poverty of ordinary families who simply had no options for family assistance. She was then employed at the Northern Tier Community Action Agency in Emporium, PA, and it was here she started the first Senior Center. She applied for a grant of $250,000, and eventually she would establish 24 Senior Centers in Cameron, Elk, McKean, and Potter counties. They provided seniors weekly activities, hot meals, and delivery of meals to the home-bound.
In addition, she established the Area Transportation Agency (ATA) for those people isolated and without transportation. This comprehensive program allowed seniors access to her Senior Volunteer program, senior centers, home visitation, and shopping. In particular, she worked with local county Community Nursing to expand home care for the elderly and shut-ins.
In 1979 she accepted the Assistant to the Director of the Secretary of State on Aging in Harrisburg. It was her she brought her vision and expertise to advise the Governor’s office and all 541 Senior Center’s across the State, and to coordinate these programs with those on the national level.
She would return to work in Johnsonburg, PA at the Elk County Housing Authority, where her energies were focused on obtaining grants for the development of modern apartments for Seniors with limited income. She would be singularly instrumental in the construction of Elco Glen in Saint Marys; Fox Manor in Kersey, St Joseph’s Terrace in Weedville, PA.
Yolanda worked until she was 83. She had developed Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), and her low-vision restricted her ability to drive, read, and continue to live alone.
As a life-long member of Sacred Heart church, she was active in the St. Anne’s Society; an Oblate with the Benedictine Sisters; and a strong patron of St. Joseph’s Monastery before closing in 2015. In 2011she was awarded the Bishop’s Commendation for Joyful Service from the Diocese of Erie for her life-long service to the rural poor and senior citizens.
She was a member of the St Marys Historical Society, the Pennsylvania Broadcasting Service of Penn State University, and the Girl Scouts of Saint Marys. She served 15 years on the Board of the former Andrew Kaul Hospital.
She treasured her collection of superbly crafted needle-point art. In particular, she produced over 36 Museum-quality Christmas stockings for her family which spanned nearly 20 years.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Father Michael Gabler, OSB, on Tuesday, January 22, 2019, at Sacred Heart Church, and inurnment in the Saint Mary’s Catholic Cemetery.
Visitation is at the Lynch-Radkowski Funeral Home on Monday, January 21, 2019, from 5:00 until 8:00 PM.
Memorials, if desired, may be made to the Sacred Heart Church, 337 Center Street, St. Marys, PA 15857, or to the Rotary Foundation, End Polio Now Campaign, 14280 Collections Center Drive, Chicago, IL 60693.
The family would like to thank the staff at Silver Creek Terrace for their outstanding care.