HELEN CECELIA YOCCA

YOCCA HELEN CECELIA (BERNARD)

Helen Cecelia Yocca, born August 17, 1936, passed Monday afternoon, March 16, 2020, after decades of fighting the good fight. Helen has always been a beautiful person, gifted with an amazing sense of humor and a voracious appetite for life. Helen and her three sisters, Jeanne, Joan, and Carolyn grew up in the small town of Gallitzin, Pennsylvania. By all accounts they had a rollicking good time. Helen became a cheerleader for Gallitzin High School where her father, Joseph Bernard, was Principal. She shared many sports interests with her dad and she was quite capable in basketball, baseball, boxing (specializing in the Bolo Punch), tennis, and also became and elegant golfer. Helen and her mother Kathryn shared a love of laughter, music, singing, food, and the beach, especially the beach. In Helen's life, thoughts of the beach attained a mythical quality. Beach memories represented the best of times, and dreaming of future beach trips would become a distraction in the worst of times. Helen began her young adult life as an x-ray technician at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. She always said that that was a really fun time in her life. Sometime after that she met John Yocca and they married. She became an office manager for decades to come. Helen gave birth to her first child at St. Francis hospital on the morning of the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. That child was me, her son Jack. I asked her how that made her feel. She said that it was a very sad time and recalls all of the nurses crying, but it was also a time of great joy as she held her new baby and set about the endeavor of motherhood. Next to come along was my brother Scott followed by my sister Wendy and Puppy dog. Mom worked tirelessly raising us. She was always fiercely loyal and lovingly supportive. When needed, she also became the long arm of the law. Childhood was filled with companionship, sports and laughs. Mom spent a lot of her time chauffeuring us around and was always there in the front row to support and cheer us on. It was more than thirty-five years ago that mom suffered the cruel tragedy of becoming paraplegic. Following her surgery there were days that were nearly unbearable for her. Her life was forever changed but not over. Husband John, children Scott and Wendy became her primary caretakers. They launched into the task with 100% dedication. Little by little they invented their own ways of functioning in that same house and quality of life slowly returned for her. In these later years. I have been witness to one of the greatest acts of love and selflessness that has ever been. Until her passing, my brother has never left her side. Scott has been her legs, her nurse, her companion and her buddy. My sister Wendy did her very best to keep mom's life as upbeat as humanly possible. They traveled, shared laughter and time. In 2005, when I got married, my wife Stephanie joined the family. Steph and mom were instantly pals. They really got a kick out of one another. The two of them loved to sit outside on the back patio on warm and sunny days sharing a little cool Chardonnay and a bunch of laughter. A year and a half later our son Brad came along and life changed again. Helen was renamed Nanny CeCe. In becoming a grandma, mom's ability to experience pure joy had returned. There were many sleepovers, tee ball, piano recitals, and swim meets to look forward to with great anticipation. Sometimes Scott would even drive Nanny over to see Brad get off the school bus. As painful as losing mom has been, we need to remember that she no longer suffers. She is reunited with her beloved parents. If heaven has a beach, I can imagine her strolling along its shoreline, or probably more likely, skipping. We all love you so much mom... Nanny CeCe... Helen. She is survived by sisters, Joan (Nicolas) Cogelia and Carolyn (Richard) Sheridan; and many nieces and nephews who loved her. Helen was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Kathryn Bernard; and sister, Jeanne (Paul) McNelis. Mass of a Christian Burial will be limited to family due to the current situation. A memorial service will be planned at a later date to remember Helen. Prayers for all will be appreciated.