Clay R Yeager

Somehow, having Clay Yeager’s name in an obituary is just plain wrong. Truly, an oxymoron.

Because no one loved life more than Clay. He embraced every single day with spectacular enthusiasm and took great joy in making others smile and laugh. His humor, positive attitude and seemingly endless supply of bad jokes won him friends wherever he went. He brought light and warmth into every room and more than anything else, he was never, ever boring. Not his personality and definitely not his choice of clothing.

So, when he received his stage 4 cancer diagnosis Clay’s one and only concern was spending as much remaining time as possible surrounded by his family and friends – sharing laughter and telling stories. The entire family gathered for one last dinner with tables around his bed, food from his favorite restaurant and a bourbon old fashioned in his hand. We shared our favorite Clay stories and laughed till our sides hurt. That was Clay Yeager in his truest form. In the center of the room, holding court, leading the stories and laughing louder than anyone else – especially at his own jokes. ‘Mr. Cheerful’ just wanted everyone to be happy. And in his final days, he greeted each of his many friends with the same line: “You can come and see me, but the price of admission is no tears! Only laughter.” And so, he filled his room with laughter and love and friendship… and managed to host one last Theta Chi fraternity party.

Clay Yeager stood out in a crowd for so many reasons… From his towering stature to his razor-sharp (and sometimes twisted) wit, to his natural charm and infectious smile. He commanded the room. He was a master communicator and public speaker who traveled the country and the world sharing his depth of knowledge and experience so he could impact the lives of troubled kids who needed help. Clay wanted to make a real difference in this world, and he did so in a big way. Not just on the national stage, but in a million small ways every day, with every person he ever met. He had a way of connecting with people on a whole other level, with compassion, empathy, humor and deep knowledge and understanding. And he had the unique ability to not just make friends, but to nurture and appreciate and maintain lifelong friendships that were pure gold.

Clay Yeager spent his career serving the interests of at-risk families and communities for forty-five years in the public, private and non-profit sectors. He began his career as a Chief Juvenile Probation Officer in Pennsylvania, and served as Director of Training for the Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission and as Director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Training & Research in Pennsylvania. While a Chief Probation Officer he was elected to three terms as President of the Pennsylvania Council of Chief Probation Officers. In 1997, he was appointed by Governor Tom Ridge as the Executive Director of the Governor’s Community Partnership for Safe Children, where he was the principal architect of Pennsylvania’s prominent national leadership in establishing a network of evidence-based community coalitions in more than 130 Pennsylvania communities.

In 2001, Clay was named by Governor Ridge as the first Director of the newly created Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention. Yeager served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington D.C. based National Criminal Justice Association from 1996-2002. He was a regular keynote speaker at annual conferences of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the National Conference of State Legislatures. He also served as a member the Advisory Board of the National Criminal Justice Reform, a joint initiative of the National Governors Association and the National Criminal Justice Association.

Clay was the first recipient of the Visionary of Pennsylvania Award ‘for helping Pennsylvania develop one of the most far reaching and coordinated prevention strategies in the nation’. In 2001, he was recognized by the Pennsylvania General Assembly for his leadership and testified before the U.S. Congress. He spoke to groups throughout the nation and the world and was invited to be the keynote speaker for community leaders in Littleton, Colorado following the shootings at Columbine High School.

In 2005-06, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Nurse-Family Partnership, one of the world’s most prominent and successful evidence-based prevention programs. And in 2010, he was a guest of the British Parliament where he spoke to members in the House of Commons on the importance of evidence-based programs as effective public policy.

Clay was born in Bloomsburg, PA on November 14, 1951 to Lois Rae (Rarig) Yeager and Bruce Odell Yeager of Numidia, PA. He was a cherished brother to Kyle Yeager and his wife Janet Finney, of Pinnacle, NC and his twin sisters, Marsha Schmucker and her husband James Schmucker of Lancaster, PA and Machal Honabach and her husband Albert Honabach of Roaring Creek, PA. He was also the beloved uncle of his niece Jessica Marrotte (Jay), and nephews Bryce Yeager (Soncerae), Alex Schmucker (Alyssa) and Ryan Schmucker and several great nieces and nephews.

But Clay’s greatest achievement and greatest source of pride, by far, was his family who he loved even more than life itself. His family was his heart and soul… His son Adam Yeager, his wife Jennifer Wineke and their son Lake Yeager. Bryn (Yeager) Walters, her husband James Walters and their two children Josie and Sebastian. His stepson Zach Alger, stepdaughter Vanessa Alger, her husband Kyle Lauter and their two children Reese and Eli, and stepson Dominic Roda. Clay was also loved and adored by his wife Marie Yeager.

A Celebration of Life for the man who celebrated life every day is being planned and will be announced at a later date.