Dear Friends:

I wanted to share a little bit of what has been going on in our lives, with a brief update.

Jason now is twenty-one and attending Ohio State this fall. He is working at a restaurant in Columbus and is moving into a new house with two of his friends. The house is located off campus. He finally has a real driveway so now we can visit without getting a parking ticket! He has decided to major in psychology and minor in communications. He is currently taking guitar lessons and is playing the drums in a band. He still enjoys golf and tennis and is working to get back in shape. The Volvo he is driving is approaching 140,000 miles and claims he is “planning to hand it down to his sisters.” He comes home often to visit and help out around the house and with the yard work. Jason is starting to mature into a more responsible young man and we are very proud of him.

Ashley is now eighteen years old and a graduate of Walsh Jesuit High School. She will be attending the University of Dayton this fall and has been working a summer job in an accounting department for a pool distributing company. She has been attending many graduation parties this summer and helping to chauffer her sisters around. She is undecided in what she would like to major in but has shown an interest in business and marketing. She went on a senior trip to Myrtle Beach with her friends following graduation and I was a nervous wreck the whole time she was gone. We are all going to miss the delicious meals that Gerard and Grandma taught her how to prepare and we hope that we will not starve when she is gone!

Nicole is now seventeen and recently got her driver’s license. We think that she decided she would need it since Ashley will be away at school and will not be able to drive her around. However, I think she mainly got it because she did not want to be riding the bus to school as a senior this fall at Walsh Jesuit High School. She went on a summer service trip with the school to El Salvador where they spent time with poverty stricken families. She really enjoyed meeting all the children and formed many deep bonds and hopes to return next year. She was surprised how happy all the children were, given the very little that they had. Many families were dirt poor. However they still laughed and smiled and were grateful for all they had. This trip has changed her and made a lasting impact on her life. She is nervous for Ashley to be leaving her this fall but claims that she is going to visit every single weekend, even though it is a three and half hour drive.

Cheryl is now fifteen and will be a sophomore at Walsh Jesuit. She is very involved in the life teen program at St. John Neumann and her sports teams. She has been attending several camps this summer for volleyball and basketball and many days she starts at eight in the morning and is not home until nine at night. She attended basketball boot camp and went on a retreat to Steubenville with the church. She enjoys being outdoors and helping with the yard work. She is nervous to drive to school with Nicole next year and hopes that maybe once she can be on time. She is inseparable from her best friend Katie Kelly who lives across the street and loves to spend time with her girlfriends. She will be trying out for the volleyball team at Walsh this fall and will also be trying out for basketball in the winter. We are all proud of her athletic accomplishments and hope that she sticks with it throughout her high school career.

Sandra is now twelve years old and will be in the seventh grade this fall at a local Catholic School. She is always on the go and will do anything for a ride to a basketball court where she will be busy for hours playing pickup basketball games with the high school boys. She has developed into quite the athlete and we all hope she remains injury free and happy with her sports teams. She is also playing for a premier soccer team called Cleveland Futbol Club and for an AAU basketball team called Sweet Shots. She has been busy with her friends and going to dances and sleepovers. My littlest one is growing up so fast.

As for myself, I have been busy driving the girls around and taking care of the house. I try and get to the rec center to work out a bit as much as possible but I seem to always find something else that needs to be done. I hope to start up tennis again this year and continue with volunteering with “Meals on Wheels” and at the church. This year has been a very important year to me, as I have become a member of the Catholic Church. It has helped me grow in faith and brought me closer to God and my family. My faith has helped me endure some of the pain of these past few years. I am so blessed by the kindness, support and generosity of so many caring people. It has helped our family tremendously we are forever grateful.  

Love,   

Barb and Family

November 2005

November 15th marked the three-month anniversary of Gerard's passing. In that time, we have shed many tears and felt the piercing pain of his absence. As the "Remembrances" entries suggest and the "Guest Book" entries indicate, we have lost a man of such tremendous stature and presence, someone who truly impacted the lives of those lucky enough to have been graced by his friendship. Gerard, we miss you dearly.

But throughout these months, we have also been blessed. The outpouring of support that engulfed us at the wake did not stop there. We have continued to experience remarkable compassion through innumerable acts of kindness, generosity, and thoughtfulness - witnessing friends and strangers alike carrying on in Gerard's signature spirit.

Additionally, we continue to heal and we get to smile as we hear your personal stories of connections to Gerard. We hear of advice given, of emails poured over, and of course of meals (so many meals) shared. How fortunate we feel to be able to relive these moments with you and grasp onto another piece of him. Thank you.

As an update on Gerard's family…Jason has returned for his 2nd year at Ohio State University. He returns home frequently to attend his sisters' many events and is trying to take on the photographer role, however big those shoes are to fill. Ashley is back at Walsh Jesuit, as a junior. She recently was nominated into the Homecoming Court, evidence that she is still the social, outgoing girl she has always been. She also returned as co-captain of her soccer team. Nicole, too, is at Walsh Jesuit and continues to make impressive grades as a sophomore there and to play on her school soccer team. Cheryl returned to Sts. Joseph and John School, and persists in being extremely active with basketball (her 3 on 3 team won the Cleveland Hoop It Up tournament), all while earning straight A's. She sprained her foot playing volleyball; Dr. Frank Vargo did the honors of casting it. Sandra is also at Sts. Joseph and John School, having just turned 11 this month. She has truly excelled at soccer and basketball, also earning straight A's. She will be trying her hand at tennis soon. Riley is healing from "being sprayed" (for the 3rd time!) in trying to befriend a backyard skunk and recently received a blessing at St. Francis of Assisi, after injuring her front paw! Barbara, of course, is somehow managing all these busy lives. She and the girls all attended the memorial at St. Vincent's Charity Hospital and the Yu family is so appreciative of the support, assistance, and love they have been shown through these distressing past months.

Gerard's family has not only been blessed with lots of support through the Gerard V. Yu Memorial Fund, but the community has also truly rallied around in providing dinners, rides, and physical and emotional hugs. The tributes the podiatric community has shared with us (Gerard's sisters had the opportunity to attend the Mid-Atlantic Podiatry Conference when it came to Maryland) have been phenomenal. Please take a look at the additional pictures and features that have been added to this website.

The next couple of months will prove to be particularly painful. Of course, this will be the first Thanksgiving and Christmas without Gerard. And, it will also be Barb's birthday, Gerard's birthday, and Gerard and Barbara's anniversary -- all before January ends. Please continue to keep Barbara and the children in your prayers. We will continue to keep you in ours, as well, as we daily offer thanksgiving.