Memorial Mass held
for Torresdale’s Les Yost

Les Yost was remembered last week as a devoted family man who spent countless hours tending to the needs of active and retired firefighters.
Yost, a longtime Torresdale resident and former president of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 22, died June 29 in an assisted-living facility in North Carolina. He was 68.
On July 29, his family and friends turned out for a memorial Mass at the chapel of the Cathedral Basilica of SS Peter and Paul.
"Les had two families that he loved," said Brian McBride, the current president of Local 22.
In his homily, Monsignor Michael T. McCulken spoke of Yost’s frequent visits to the homes and hospitals of sick and injured firefighters and paramedics. The priest also mentioned his compassion to the widows of members who died.
McBride told the crowd that Yost went beyond the traditional duties of a union president, creating a widows’ fund to care for families during the Christmas holidays and starting a charity fund for Philadelphians in need. He thanked Yost’s wife Barbara and three children for sacrificing time with their husband and father as he tended to union duties.
Bagpipe players performed as guests stood outside the chapel.
In the foyer, there were pictures of Yost with his family and with fellow union leaders. One photo showed Yost holding a sign saying "Fire department cutbacks kill" during a protest rally. There was also a newspaper clipping that recounted how Yost and Gerald Culleton, then working for Engine 28, saved two children from a house fire on Coral Street in Port Richmond.
At the front of the chapel was a flower arrangement in the form of the firefighter shield from his former station, Engine 13, Ladder 1.
Others in attendance included City Council members Frank Rizzo, Jannie Blackwell and Bill Green, former City Controller Jonathan Saidel, Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers and Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 president John McNesby.
Yost joined the fire department in 1959 and retired on Jan. 1, 2004. He served as Local 22 recording secretary and vice president before assuming the presidency from 1987-99, after which he returned to active duty at Ladder 1, at 1541-47 Parrish St.
In 2001, he was elected as a union trustee. He served as vice president from 2003-07.
Yost, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for about a year, is survived by his wife; children Christine Sellers, Kurt and Andrew; and three granddaughters. They held an earlier service in North Carolina.
His family is asking that donations in his memory be sent to the Local 22 Widows Fund, 415 N. Fifth St., Philadelphia, PA 19123 or the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, 322 Eighth Ave., seventh floor, New York, NY 10001. ••