Obituary of George William Gerritt Yonker
George William Gerritt Yonker, age 66, began a new mission to explore strange new worlds beyond the final frontier on Thursday October 25, 2018, with his loved ones by his side. He was a resident of East Chicago, Indiana, then Joliet, Illinois, before retiring on what he would call his permanent vacation to a small cabin in Kentucky.
Born on February 16, 1952, in Hammond, Indiana, George always had a curious (and warped) mind with an avid interest in how things worked. His love of building and construction started early with his erector sets and elaborate train sets as well as moving doorways and cabinets around in the house just because he could. Once he mastered construction (or deconstruction in some cases), he then moved on to mechanics when he learned to fix cars as he worked at the family business, Yonker’s Arco Service & Gas Station on the Harbor side of East Chicago. He went on to work several other jobs to support his family while simultaneously pursuing his EET degree (because he just had to figure out how that video game worked) from DeVry where he became president of Tau Alpha Pi National Honor Society. After graduation he started a career at Lucent Technologies (formerly AT&T Bell Labs) which was the first job where they paid him “just to think” and not perform physical labor but his family was convinced he really just played computer games all day long. After leaving Lucent, he found himself back to where he started with a business in building and construction when he started his own handyman company, Yonker’s Rent-A-Hubby. He grew his business from the ground up and was able to complete a variety of jobs utilizing his skills in construction, mechanics and electricity. He took much pride in his work but really just looked for any opportunity to operate heavy machinery that he would call “big boy’s toys.” He was also a member of the Plainfield Masonic Lodge #536 for over 10 years. After moving to Kentucky, he quickly made great friends and was able to tell his jokes to a new audience. His head was filled with ideas of what he wanted to do with this fixer-upper and was always recruiting visitors with the stipulation that “if you visit, I’m putting you to work.” His months in Kentucky were the happiest, most stress-free months of his life, especially the month where he rented a backhoe...boys and their toys.
George was known by many for his hard work, and fun very unfiltered sense of humor – the more he could make a person blush, the better. He was very personable and made friends easily wherever he went. He prided himself on his efforts to take people under his wing and teach them new skills, in order for them to become more self-sufficient in their own lives. George liked joking that he was a “cantankerous, dirty old man,” but he showed obvious love for others by the way he went out of his way when someone was in need, and he never wanted to burden anyone if he had any issues himself. He lived life on his own terms, and encouraged others to do the same. He loved Portillo’s beef and sausage combos, Donut Den, Black Velvet, train sets, cool cars, model engines, train sets, anything he could run on remote control, long naps, fishing, train sets, documentaries, road trips, his Lincoln Town Car, train sets, duct tape, The Red Skelton Show, The Red Green show, the color red, and having fun. His entire life, he was adamant that when he was gone that people celebrate his life rather than mourn, “Just prop me up in a corner and have a big party!”
George is survived by his three daughters, Kimberly Yonker, who looks the most like him, Natalie Yonker, who works the most like him, and Christine (Russell) Snow, who drinks the most like him. He is also survived by his sister Maaike Ailes (nee Yonker) with whom he loved to bicker as well as tease that she would always be older than he was; his nephews David Pazdur, Don (Jenny) Pazdur, and Joe (Leslie) Pazdur; his nieces Nora Bultema (nee Ailes) and Elizabeth Ailes; his cousins in England, Rod (Julie) Horne and Glenda (Phil) Billham (aka the Brits); and by his two children from his first marriage, Carrie Kooy and Todd Yonker, as well as three grandchildren.
He is preceded in death by his immigrant parents, his father, Willis (Netherlands), and his mother Nora (England), his old Atari, a train set that didn’t make it to Kentucky, and the filter from his brain to his mouth.
A visitation for George will be held on Tuesday, October 30, 2018, from 3pm-8pm with a service at 7:30pm where friends and family will be asked to share stories and memories of George at Fred C. Dames Funeral Home, 3200 Black Rd at Essington Rds., Joliet, IL 60431. For information please call 815-741-5500 or you may visit his memorial tribute at www.fredcdames.com
“If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.” -The Red Green Show
