Obituary for Robert Yarup
Robert Lee Yarup, 83, of Indiana, died Friday, February 21, 2020 at St. Andrew’s Village in Indiana, surrounded by his loving family.
Born on October 30, 1936, in Maxwell, he was a son of the late Stephen Yarup and Anna (Guffrey) Yarup.
Bob was the husband of Josephine Angeline (Nicola) Yarup, whom he married July 4, 1959. Together they raised three sons, Robert, Stephen and Sean.
He graduated from Brownsville High School in 1954 where he was a star athlete in football and baseball.
Bob served four years in the U.S. Air Force from 1954 to 1958 during which time he completed extended tours in Japan and the North Pacific.
Bob earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education at California State Teachers College in 1961. From 1961 to 1968, he was an English teacher at Gateway High School.
During his tenure at Gateway, he earned a Master of Arts degree at West Virginia University and also completed graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon and Pitt.
In 1969, he began a 28-year career as an English professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, retiring in 1997.
Bob was passionate about literature, particularly the works of Hemingway and Faulkner.
While teaching at IUP, he authored four essays of literary criticism that were published in scholarly journals. In retirement, he went on to write five more critical essays, the last of which, “The Light on the Ceiling” in Hemingway’s “Across the River and into the Trees,” was published online by The Explicator in September 2019.
His boyhood adventures with the Monongahela River in his “backyard” were uniquely chronicled by him in a narrative essay titled “Haunting and Illusory: Growing up Along the Mon,” published in the spring 2006 edition of Western Pennsylvania History.
Bob was a member of The American Legion, Elks and Eagles in Indiana for many years. He enjoyed working in his vegetable garden and was happy to share his bountiful harvest of red tomatoes with friends and neighbors.
His other pastimes included listening to Sinatra and jazz music, playing softball and then golf, and playing the daily number. Raised in southwestern Pennsylvania, he was a lifelong Pirates and Steelers fan.
Devoted to his beloved wife of 60 years, Bob shared many special moments with Josephine, including memorable trips to Sicily and Italy in 1999 and Paris and Rome in 2009, where they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Since moving to Indiana in 1969, both Bob and Josephine have been members of St. Thomas More University Parish.
In addition to his wife, Bob is remembered by his sons: Robert S. Yarup (Linda) of McDonald; and Sean Yarup (Rebecca Stearns) of Gaithersburg, Md.; grandchildren, Anatoly Yarup, Stephanie Yarup and Kimberly Clawson (Thomas); great-grandchildren, Timothy, Ethan and Addison Clawson; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a son, Stephen Yarup; a brother, Richard Yarup, and a sister, Shirley Jioio.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday, February 28 at the St. Thomas More University Parish in Indiana.
Following Mass, a reception will be held downstairs at the church. A private burial, following a blessing service at St. Peter’s Church in Brownsville, will be held Saturday, February 29 in St. Peter’s Cemetery.
Cremation at the Rairigh-Bence Funeral Home Crematory is under the direction of the Rairigh-Bence Funeral Home of Indiana.
Online condolences may be made at: rbfh.net.
Born on October 30, 1936, in Maxwell, he was a son of the late Stephen Yarup and Anna (Guffrey) Yarup.
Bob was the husband of Josephine Angeline (Nicola) Yarup, whom he married July 4, 1959. Together they raised three sons, Robert, Stephen and Sean.
He graduated from Brownsville High School in 1954 where he was a star athlete in football and baseball.
Bob served four years in the U.S. Air Force from 1954 to 1958 during which time he completed extended tours in Japan and the North Pacific.
Bob earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education at California State Teachers College in 1961. From 1961 to 1968, he was an English teacher at Gateway High School.
During his tenure at Gateway, he earned a Master of Arts degree at West Virginia University and also completed graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon and Pitt.
In 1969, he began a 28-year career as an English professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, retiring in 1997.
Bob was passionate about literature, particularly the works of Hemingway and Faulkner.
While teaching at IUP, he authored four essays of literary criticism that were published in scholarly journals. In retirement, he went on to write five more critical essays, the last of which, “The Light on the Ceiling” in Hemingway’s “Across the River and into the Trees,” was published online by The Explicator in September 2019.
His boyhood adventures with the Monongahela River in his “backyard” were uniquely chronicled by him in a narrative essay titled “Haunting and Illusory: Growing up Along the Mon,” published in the spring 2006 edition of Western Pennsylvania History.
Bob was a member of The American Legion, Elks and Eagles in Indiana for many years. He enjoyed working in his vegetable garden and was happy to share his bountiful harvest of red tomatoes with friends and neighbors.
His other pastimes included listening to Sinatra and jazz music, playing softball and then golf, and playing the daily number. Raised in southwestern Pennsylvania, he was a lifelong Pirates and Steelers fan.
Devoted to his beloved wife of 60 years, Bob shared many special moments with Josephine, including memorable trips to Sicily and Italy in 1999 and Paris and Rome in 2009, where they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Since moving to Indiana in 1969, both Bob and Josephine have been members of St. Thomas More University Parish.
In addition to his wife, Bob is remembered by his sons: Robert S. Yarup (Linda) of McDonald; and Sean Yarup (Rebecca Stearns) of Gaithersburg, Md.; grandchildren, Anatoly Yarup, Stephanie Yarup and Kimberly Clawson (Thomas); great-grandchildren, Timothy, Ethan and Addison Clawson; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a son, Stephen Yarup; a brother, Richard Yarup, and a sister, Shirley Jioio.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday, February 28 at the St. Thomas More University Parish in Indiana.
Following Mass, a reception will be held downstairs at the church. A private burial, following a blessing service at St. Peter’s Church in Brownsville, will be held Saturday, February 29 in St. Peter’s Cemetery.
Cremation at the Rairigh-Bence Funeral Home Crematory is under the direction of the Rairigh-Bence Funeral Home of Indiana.
Online condolences may be made at: rbfh.net.