Howard West Yant

Howard West Yant of Greensburg, Pennsylvania died on February 2 after a long and determined fight against the inevitable aging process. Howard was born on July 14, 1934, in Hammond, IN. As a child he briefly lived in Greensburg while his father worked at The Walworth Valve Company. In 1946 the family moved to Casper, WY, where Howard spent many happy years fishing, hiking, and exploring the wilderness back when thermal wear meant wool socks. He graduated from Natrona County High School, attended Reed College in Oregon for the chance to skip class in favor of climbing Mt. Hood, and ultimately graduated from University of Wyoming with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

After a short stint in the Army, stationed in Washington DC, Howard joined Allis Chalmers in Milwaukee, WI. Many of the groundbreaking (literally and figuratively) research projects he worked on were funded by NASA, as the space race was under way. His next career move was to Westinghouse, where he joined the Steam Generator team at Waltz Mill. He rotated through several Westinghouse divisions in the Pittsburgh area, and his final tour of duty for Westinghouse involved designing and supervising nuclear reactor repairs across Europe – a dream job enabling him to ski in the Alps after preventing nuclear meltdown on any given Tuesday.

Howard had a love of outdoor sports and adventure, and was happy skiing, bicycling, mountain climbing, hiking, rafting and backpacking. He made many trips with the Waltz Mill hiking group, dragged his children up mountains and across rivers, and eventually outpaced even his grandchildren. He was a good judge of risk, which allowed him to push the limits of both the terrain and his body. No stranger to injury, as he got older the history-taking during any ER visit became a laundry list of the casualties incurred by an adventurous lifestyle. 

Howard was exceptionally proud of his ten grandchildren Joe (Katie), Zakk, Melanie and Madeline (Mark Oet) Cohodes, Victor (Anna) and Laurel Sipe, and Andrew, Jacob, Ben and Gabe Yant, but never hesitated to call someone a turkey if they had done something he considered ill-advised. 

Howard met the love of his life, Esther Andrews, while at University of Wyoming. They were married 58 years and had three children: Suzanne (Jeff) Cohodes, Sara (Don) Belt and David (Kelli) Yant. Esther and Howard shared a love of the West and especially Wyoming, making annual trips with children and grandchildren.

Howard is preceded in death by his parents, Joseph Wayne Yant and Winifred West Yant, his wife, Esther Andrews Yant, and his sister, Joanne Yant Tanner.

Family and friends will be received on Friday from 4 to 7 pm in the KEPPLE-GRAFT FUNERAL HOME, INC. 524 N. Main Street, Greensburg. Funeral services will be held on Saturday at 12 pm in Christ’s Church 145 N. Main St. Greensburg. Private interment will follow in the Unity Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the memorial fund of Christ’s Church, Greensburg, PA. Online condolences are welcome at www.kepplegraft.com