Robert E. "Coach" Yenrick

Robert E. Yenrick, 91, of Rossford, Ohio, passed away peacefully under hospice care in his home Tuesday evening, September 14, 2021, surrounded by his loving family. Born Saturday, December 21, 1929, in East Toledo, Ohio, Bob was the second son of McClelland and Mae Cassley Yenrick. He attended Hathaway and Navarre Elementary Schools and was a member of Morrison R. Waite High School’s Class of 1949. Bob married the love of his life, Jane Palmer, a fellow East Toledoan at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in East Toledo, on Saturday, August 26, 1950. Together, they began a partnership of community service while they raised five children and actively supported their children’s many endeavors. Bob truly believed that it was better to give than to receive and he always advocated for the youth of Northwest Ohio. 

Growing up in East Toledo, Bob loved the Eastside and he loved Waite High School. As a student at Waite, he participated in both basketball and baseball and played at the varsity level. He was a member of the Varsity “W” Club. In 1948, as a junior in high school, he started his career as a volunteer coach. The first teams that Bob served were for the East Toledo Railroad YMCA, which included basketball, baseball, and softball. Later, he coached teams in the Junior and Senior Knothole Leagues and the Eddie Collins League.  He coached basketball for the East Toledo Neighborhood House and the downtown Boys Club. This was the beginning of a long and rewarding career. In 1955, the Boys Club Baseball Team played in the Connie Mack Tournament. The Boys Club Basketball Team of 1959 won every game and played before a Cleveland Browns Exhibition Basketball Game. From 1961 to 1966, Riverside Hospital hired Bob to coach women’s basketball. In 1966, he recruited girls from all over the city and formed the East Toledo Independent’s Women’s Slo-Pitch Softball Team.  That same year, they won the Toledo Metro League Tournament and went on to the Woman’s World Slo-Pitch Softball Tournament in Burlington, North Carolina. Bob volunteered and coached at the Boys and Girls Club for twenty years and received the “Friend of Youth Award” in 1986 and, in 2014, he received their Hall of Fame Award. Also in 1986, he received the Volunteer Action Center Award from the United Way of Greater Toledo. Bob served on the Cardinal Stritch Athletic Board from 1978 until 1981 and, during these years, he coached the Varsity Golf Team and the Freshman Girls’ Basketball Team. Bob also coached teams for the Special Olympics. In 1992, Bob was instrumental in forming the Senior Softball League for the East Toledo Family Center. During this time, Bob was on the Advisory Board for the East Toledo Senior Center, and he received their 1993-1994 Volunteer Award. In 1998, he was the recipient of the East Toledo Family Center’s Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2010, the City of Toledo presented Bob and his family with the Key to the City for their volunteer services throughout the years. He ended his volunteer coaching career working with the Rossford Girls Basketball Program from 2006 through 2012. 

Bob worked briefly for Toledo Edison. From 1949-1956, he was employed by Torrence Sound. He retired after 30 years as Sales Manager for Motorola at Warren Radio Company located in downtown Toledo. His ability to sell car radios earned Bob and his wife, Jane, vacations that took them to many parts of the world. In 1962, he opened his own picture framing business in East Toledo and later relocated it to Oregon, Ohio. “Robert’s Frame Shop” remained open for 31 years until his retirement in 1993.

In addition to coaching, Bob enjoyed hobbies that included Western Square Dancing with his wife, training and over feeding the family dogs, picture framing, working on his model train sets, doing spontaneous projects around the house, and volunteering. During his retirement, he and Jane continued to travel throughout the United States with their children and grandchildren.  

In 1995, Bob was one of the four founding members of the W.A.I.T.E., Inc. Scholarship Fund that would go on to award more than $400,000 in scholarships to Waite students. In 2001, he was instrumental in creating the Waite High School Golden Years Luncheon that is held each year during the month of September. He was also a member of the Waite Has Been Golf Group for many years.

Through the years, Bob served as PTA President for East Side Central Elementary School, PTA Vice President for Waite High School, President of the East Toledo Junior Football League, a Board Member of the East Toledo Neighborhood House, Vice President of the East Toledo Historical Society, Co-Chairman of Friends of Navarre Park, Vice President and Trustee of WAITE, Inc., and Program Director for the Fassett Street Group. 

Bob was predeceased by his parents, his in-laws, A. William and Cornelia Harpster Palmer, his older brother and sister-in-law, Carl M. and Marguerite Minnick Yenrick, and his nephew, Paul Yenrick. He is survived by his loving wife of 71 years, Jane, and their children, Deborah, Robert (Dianna), David (Carolyn), Timothy (Linda), and Connie. Also left to cherish his memory are grandchildren, Robert (Holly), Chad (Theresa), Mathew (Andrea), Katherine (Joe Salameh), Christopher, William (Kellie), Leigh, and Anne (Sam Woodring), great-grandchildren Rebekah, Skyler, Palmer, Olivia, Sydah, Stella, Mollie, Cole, Asher, and Mia, with #11 due to arrive in early November, nephew, Philip (Suzanna) Yenrick, and dear family friend, Joanne Loolen. 

In May 2021, Bob was received into the Catholic Church and is a member of All Saints Catholic Church in Rossford, Ohio. A Mass of Christian Burial was held at the church, 628 Lime City Road, for family and friends on Monday, September 20, 2021, with private graveside services that followed. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in Bob’s memory be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. 

 

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