Carol Yonke

Carol Yonke (nee Cullen) at rest Sunday, August 16, 2015 in Azle Texas at the age of 81 years. Service: 10:00 A.M. Monday in White’s Funeral Home Chapel, Azle Texas. Interment: 12:30 P.M. Monday at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. Visitation: 6 to 8 P.M. Sunday at White’s Azle Funeral Home, Azle, TX. Born Carol Margaret Cullen in Chicago, Illinois April 29, 1934 to Lloyd B. Cullen and Viola M. Cullen (nee Conschack); she grew up in Will County, graduating from Elwood grade school, Joliet Township High School and Joliet Junior College. After that, she furthered her education, becoming a Registered X-Ray Technician through the program at St. Anne's Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, where she worked for a number of years. On May 21, 1961 she married James J. Yonke at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Joliet. The couple resided in Oak Park, Illinois for many years, raising their children there. Carol's true passion in life was Art in it's many forms and expressions. Even as a small child, she preferred clay, paper, paints and pencils over dolls. She won several blue ribbons at Will County Fairs for her paintings while she was still in grade and high school. While a stay-at-home mom, she discovered a love of ceramics which she persued for decades. When her husband's career moved them to Texas, she enrolled at Texas Women's University to finish her education; graduating Summa Cum Laude in 1989, her major being ceramics. In her sixties, she declared, " I can't throw clay anymore...it's too labor intensive! " She changed artistic direction once again and began making her own glass beads and other jewelry, selling her creations to family and friends and at various craft shows and fairs. After her husband's death in 2012, she donated the profits of her art to the Altzheimer's Foundation. At 80, her favorite "outings" became trips to local bead shops. She had to keep up with what was new and popular in the jewelry world! During her entire life, she embraced new technologies as they emerged: from computers to cell phones to MP3 players to I Pads. Though her body aged, she never allowed her mind to became old. She was preceded in death by her husband of fifty-one years and her parents. Left to cherish her memory are her sons: Mark Yonke of Illinois, Bernard Yonke of Texas; daughters, Leslie Yonke of Illinois, and Jane Yonke (husband Jeff Huber) of Massachusettes; grandsons; Christopher, Benjamin and Eric Huber; sisters; Susan (John) Carlton of Illinois, Pam (Paul) Feyereisen of Illinois, Rita Hanson of Nevada, and Roberta Cullen of Minnesota; brother, Ronald Cullen of New Mexico; sisters-in law, Judy (Joe) Ferras and Joyce (Don) Tynan; and numerous nieces and nephews.