osephine Masden Yearick, 102 of Howard and Juniper Village, State College, was born in Howard on May 10, 1914 to Harry and Mary Masden.
She had two sisters and five brothers. Don, Paul, and Walter are deceased. Robert , wife Robin, and Charles, wife Shirley, survive as does sister Bertha Walker. Sister Dorothy is deceased.
A graduate of Hwward High School, Jo earned her registered nursing degree at Lock Haven Hospital Nursing School in 1934 and was a nurse for nine years in Bellefonte Hospital. She joined the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant in the Nursing Corp in 1942.
Stationed in Fort Meade, Md., and Drew Field Air Force Base in Florida, she was transferred to Fort Dietrich in Frederick, Md. in 1950. She was stationed near Osaka, Japan during the Korean War and helped set up a 1,000 bed hospital in three days.
Following the Korean War, she remained in the Army Reserves until 1967 when she retired as a major in the Nursing Corp after 21 years of service.
Returning to Howard, she married John K. “Butch” Yearick and taught practical nursing at Pleasant Gap Vo-Tech for eight years. John passed in 1987 and the J.K. Yearick Center at Howard Fire Hall was later named in his memory. Jo remained in Howard, laster living happily at Brookline, now Juniper Village, surrounded by wonderful friends and staff.
Jo is survived by step-granddaughter Gwen Holderman and sister Dorothy, daughers of Jo's deceased step-daugher Patricia Hall. Others include step-grandchildren Curtis Northrup and Judy, deceased . Their mother, Jacque, Jo's step-daughter, survives.
Josehine's son David Rupert and wife Phyllis join Jo's granddaughter Amy and husband Sean Bogle and their son Carson, along with Jo's other great-grandchildren, Harrison, Ethan and Anna Rhoads (Olivia is deceased) in thanking the wonderful staff at Mount Nittany Medical Center where Jo died on May 15, 2016 after a long struggle. Along with her cousins, nephews, nieces, and friends, we all say goodbye to a very special woman. God Bless!
In Jo's memory, donations may be made to the Howard Fire Company, PO Box 276, or Emmanuel United Church of Christ, PO Box 123, both of Howard, Pa. 16841.