CATHRYN S. YARNELL
Cathryn Yarnell, loving daughter of the late Helen and Howard Yarnell. Beloved sister of David (Michelle), Michael, Alicia and the late Steven, known to her friends as Cat and Ryn, to family as Cathy, went to be with the Lord on June 26, 2017 at the age of 55 after a hard-fought 14 month battle with lung and brain cancer.
Native to Philadelphia, Cathryn graduated from George Washington High School in 1979 and quickly secured employment with the IRS on Roosevelt Boulevard. She worked there for many years until she became disabled after an injury and was forced to retire.
After the death of her father, Howard, and then her mother, Helen, she moved out of her home and into her parent’s house to care for her brother Michael and sister Alicia, who had struggled with brain cancer years earlier and needed close care. Cathy had a selfless, nurturing and caring spirit, and devoted the next six years of her earthly life caring for her two siblings.
Cathy enjoyed reading, hot air balloon rides and races, festivals, boating, kiting and enjoying the company of her many friends, both near and far via the Internet.
In the final weeks of her life on Earth, Cathy’s heart was opened by the Holy Spirit and she understood and humbly received the great gift purchased on her behalf by our Savior, Christ Jesus. By the blood of the Lamb, her sins have been forgiven and she has had her name inscribed in the Lamb’s Book of Life, having received eternal life. I praise Almighty God that He allowed me to lead her to a saving faith in the weeks before her passing. I can now rest peacefully in anticipation of the joyful reunion to come.
She is survived by her older brother David, and younger siblings, brother Michael and sister Alicia, Sister-in-Law Michelle Yarnell (Hosgood) and her beloved feline companion who she saved from death years earlier, Malibu.
Interment is planned for Forest Hills Cemetery, 25 Byberry Rd, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006 at a future date. Services will be limited to close friends and family. She will be interred in the Sylvan B section of the cemetery in lot 325, for those who wish to visit privately and leave flowers or other remembrances.
Thank you to all those who loved my amazing sister Cathy. She will be tearfully missed and forever remembered as a gentle, selfless soul in an increasingly difficult and hostile world, a source of endless compassion and strength, and the best sister a family could ever hope to know. We miss you Cathy but are sure of the hope that lies within that a reunion awaits. We will see you again. Rest until then my beloved sister.
