A celebration of the life of Jack Yelle

Lillian Constant
Posted 8/21/12

On December 17, 2015, the community of Roscoe lost one of its most beloved friends: Jack Yelle.

Jack was a family man, a friend, watercolor artist, teacher, veteran, community volunteer, chess …

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A celebration of the life of Jack Yelle

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On December 17, 2015, the community of Roscoe lost one of its most beloved friends: Jack Yelle.

Jack was a family man, a friend, watercolor artist, teacher, veteran, community volunteer, chess player, camper, nature enthusiast, fly fisherman, generous, a gentleman—and the list continues... well in one word, Jack was extraordinary. A man who went above and beyond, a man who would be the first to say thank you, give praise, compliment, ask about your loved ones, and the first to ask how he could help with anything going on in the community.

He loved his community; he loved his art students; and he loved colors, bald eagles, rainbows and all the landscapes of nature. But Jack loved his family most, his beloved wife and best friend Pat, his wonderful children, their spouses and his beautiful grandchildren about whom he always spoke so highly.

Jack and Pat have always said that they were very lucky to have retired and settled in Roscoe, making it their home. I, on the other hand, find this very humorous, as I feel that members of the community of Roscoe were the lucky ones to have had the privilege and honor that the Yelles chose Roscoe.

Whenever I think of the song Louis Armstrong performed, “What a Wonderful World,” performed by Louis Armstrong and written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss, I think of Jack Yelle.

I will miss Jack’s infectious smile, his hugs, his words of encouragement. I will miss his beautiful renderings. But most of all I will miss watching Jack and Pat holding hands.

Thank you, Jack for all you did for us. You are and will be truly missed. There is a phrase that goes, “If love could have saved him, he would never have died.”

On Saturday, January 16, hundreds of family and friends attended, “A Celebration of the Life of Jack Yelle”, which was held at the Roscoe Community Center. A testament to what a great man he was.

[Lillian Constant is a resident of Roscoe, NY.]

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