Virginia Mary (Yachechak) Doctor, 94

Virginia Mary (Yachechak) Doctor, 94, passed away March 11, 2014, in Kalispell.

Several years ago she wrote a book of her memoirs. Below are several excerpts of her life.

“I was born Nov. 14, 1919, in Beckley, W.Va. My mother was Magdalene Jabosky (Her maiden name was Tomalinas. Her brothers and she immigrated from Vilnas, Lithuania in the early 1900s) when the oldest brother inherited the farm. The siblings were 16, 18 and 20 at that time. She had six children with her first husband, William. He was killed in a mine accident in 1918 and my mother married his best friend, Anthony Getuskie. While Mom was six months pregnant with me, my father was killed in a mine accident.

“With no money, and an immigrant with little ability to speak English, our family was in dire condition. Mom’s brother Pierce lived in Pennsylvania and heard of our situation, so when I was 6 months old, he brought the family to live with his family. But the stress of two husbands’ deaths was too much and she took off from the family, leaving me behind with her brother. My brothers and sister were sent to an orphanage (I would learn years later) and I never knew what happened to my mother. After years of looking, Pop found my sister in an orphanage and brought her to live with us. Some years later I met my brothers while in New York City.

“After high school I went to New York with my sister and became a nanny for a Broadway producer, Amatile Friedlander. He had a penthouse suite at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. His best friends were George and Gracie Allen and Jack and Mary Benny. I spent many hours caring for his children and traveling with the Broadway stars, but my pop wanted me to go to school, so I left for nursing school and graduated in 1941.

“While living in New Jersey, I met Bill Yachechak from a Russian immigrant family. He had a $10 bet that he could get a date with me. He won and in 1943 we got married. After the war we set on starting a family and in 1948 Ken was born. In 1952 Susan was born.

In 1953, Bill had a heart attack after going on a fishing trip. In May 1960 and while at work, he had a massive heart attack and died at age 42. I was 41. I was working at the hospital when they brought him in. With little money and two children, my life took a sad turn. We managed to keep our home, and the children had a good childhood. Bill’s death ended a chapter of my life and a new one would begin.

“As the children got older, they wanted to be out with their friends more. I began to date. One of my friends took me to Parents without Partners, a social club and there, I met Paul Doctor. We began dating and traveling into New York for shows and clubs. He had two sons, Allen and Bob. We got married in 1965. Ken left for Montana to go to college; Allen went to school in New York; Bob and Susan stayed at home. I continued to work at the hospital. Paul retired in 1974 and I retired in 1981.

“We spent our retired years traveling the world and, of course, visiting the children and now grandkids. In 2000 we moved to Kalispell to be closer to ACKen and his family, including Kaci and Ginjer (Yachechak). Susan moved to Post Falls, Idaho, ACwith her husband Tony after living in Africa. My twilight years in Kalispell were very happy. I have had Suzy, Ken, Kaci and Ginjer close to me. What more could any mother ask for?”

Paul died in 2006.

Family members living in Kalispell include Jodee Yachechak and Pati Pennington. Bob lives in Chicago, and his daughter Rebecca is in New York. Alan is in Florida and his son Jason is in New York City.

A private family graveside service will be held at C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery.