Hempfield lawyer reveled in details, didn't neglect big picture

Edward Yoder loved to reach out and talk to people in foreign lands.

As a ham radio operator using the call of W3YMB, he collected “a box full” of cards that listed the names of all the voices he connected with overseas, said his wife, Carolyn Yoder.

“He loved contacting people, talking to them from all over the world,” she said.

Edward W. Yoder of Hempfield died at home Monday, Aug. 3, 2015, from complications of pulmonary fibrosis. He was 84.

He worked for 33 years for Westinghouse Electric Co. and retired in 1988. While working, he went to night school to obtain a law degree from the University of Baltimore and was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1967.

He worked part time as a lawyer in the Baltimore area while handling contracts for Westinghouse. Later, he was a Murrysville councilman, serving as president.

He loved details, whether as an engineer, lawyer or councilman, said his son Andrew Yoder.

“He loved to read the fine print,” his wife said. “He was handy to have around if you had anything you didn't understand.”

“(As a councilman) he loved to have the meetings run the way they were supposed to be run,” Andrew Yoder said. “Anytime he got any appliance, he had the receipt, the manual. He was organized.”

He became a councilman because “he saw things he didn't like” and wanted to change them, Andrew Yoder said.

Mr. Yoder and his wife met on a blind date and married Oct. 15, 1955.

“He was a good-looking young man, and he always had something to say,” Carolyn Yoder said. His talkativeness helped grow the relationship because she was quiet, his wife said.

While he was working for Westinghouse, Mr. Yoder and his family lived in Tehran in 1977-78.

“Everything was fine. The shah was there and a lot of Westerners. We met a lot of good people,” Carolyn Yoder said.

The family moved to Westmoreland County in 1979.

“He was a good man, a family man,” his wife said.

Mr. Yoder was a Korean War veteran, serving in the Navy aboard a submarine. Later, he became a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 33, Greensburg; the American Legion Post 981, South Greensburg; the U.S. Submarine Veterans Association, the American Radio Relay League and the Quarter Century Wireless Association.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by two sons, Andrew Yoder and wife Michelle of Washington Township, and John Yoder and wife Kimberly of Level Green; a daughter, Karen Anne DeSantis and husband Richard of Bell; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Family and friends will be received from 9-11 a.m. Thursday in Barnhart Funeral Home, 505 E. Pittsburgh St., Greensburg. Interment with full military honors will follow in the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil.

Memorial donations may be made to the U.S. Submarine Veterans Association.

Bob Stiles is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-836-6622 or bstiles@tribweb.com.