Fred Wayne Yant, 83, died April 27, 2009 in Mission, Texas. He was the son of Ward and Susie Yant and was born Oct. 12, 1926, on a farm north of Collamer.
With an eighth grade education and adventure in his soul, he moved with his mother to Harvey, Ill. after the death of his father and sale of the family farm. He worked at the Ice House, icing down freight cars, then at Perfection Gear as a milling machine operator, and showing his adventurous spirit, enlisted in the US Navy at the age of 17, serving in the Pacific from March 29, 1944, to June 10, 1945. He saw action Guam, Iwo Jima and the Philippines, aboard a destroyer named the USS McCall under the command of General Halsey. He was honorably discharged on May 30, 1946.
In June of that year, he married his longtime sweetheart, Dorothy Mae Thomas. Many people in the Collamer area would remember her as the grandaughter of Tom and Nettie Conway, who visited her grandparents in the summers. They became parents of three daughters and a son, who eventually produced 10 grandchildren. There are 12 great grandchildren.
Also surviving is one sister, Ruth (and Phil) Krider of South Whitley.
He worked in the parts department of Kickert Buick in Harvey, Ill., then went on to be a salesman and eventually became the general sales manager. At the age of 62 he retired to care for his wife of 43 years. She died April 1989.
In 1992, he maried Mary Leahy and they did a lot of traveling, settling in Mission, Texas. They resided along a golf course which allowed him to enjoy his passion for golf. He remained there until his death.
Memorial services were recently held in Illinois.