Hail and Farewell Cynthia Rae Youtzy was born to Howard and Virgie Youtzy at home in McVeytown, PA on November 13, 1934. She shuffled off this mortal coil on November 19th 2019, six days after completing her 85th trip around the sun. In addition to her parents and a whole slew of other blood relations, she was preceded in death by her sister, Judy Notestine. She is survived by another slew of blood relations and friends, but most notably her wife, Judy Brown, and best friend, Janie Stewart. Cindy read voraciously throughout her life, with nonfiction and historical fiction her favorite genres. Her lifelong interest in all things WWII likely stems from devouring True™ comics; she was six years old when those comics started carrying true stories of that war. Her childhood was by all indications a happy, small town experience. Cindy graduated high school in 1952, one of twenty-five graduating seniors. Under her picture in the twelve-page yearbook she is remembered thusly: “This lassie can really play the trumpet. She is also a star basketball player, and often contents herself by making up nicknames for her classmates.” Hers was Cink short for Cinky, her sister Judy’s version of Cindy. Next, Cindy graduated from Harrisburg Hospital School of Nursing, or as she called it, indentured servitude. She then began her twenty-year career in the United States Air Force. One of her first deployments was to 7505th USA Field Hospital at Burderop Park, UK. From there she took full advantage of every opportunity to visit most of Europe on her days off She was quite the intrepid traveler-if no friend was available, she went on her own. Other memorable assignments include Japan, the Philippines, Las Vegas and Minot, ND. The Air Force sent her to UPenn for a BS in Nursing and later to the University of Iowa for her Master’s in Nursing Administration. Evidence of her tenacity was a hard-fought passing grade in French. She felt honored to have received two degrees while serving her country. Her final assignment was Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, TX. The Air Force taught her the importance of maintaining connections because she never stayed in one place very long. She had friends in every part of the globe. She appreciated the diversity of people, places and cultures as she traveled the world for work and pleasure. When she met someone without a common language, she used her hands to communicate. After retirement, she stayed in Wichita Falls, TX first teaching nursing at Midwestern State University where she enjoyed a reputation as a wolf, when in reality she was a sheep. Later she opened a card, gift and collectibles shop with best friend, Janie. It is also in Wichita Falls in May of 1980 that Cindy met her life partner and eventual wife, Judy. Cindy hesitated to return to Europe, wanting to remember it as she had experienced it in the 1960’s. The travel bug bit hard though, when she and Judy attended a reunion at Burderop in the early 1980’s. Thereafter, they made annual trips to London in January to attend many plays and opera performances to make up for the dearth of culture in Wichita Falls. Other trips focused on the U.S.S.R and other Eastern Bloc countries as they began to open up to tourists. She always wanted to go where American tourists were scarce. Albania, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia were all favorites. Extra pages were added to their passports. Janie joined them on many of these trips where she shared with Cindy a love of cemeteries, graffiti and architecture all captured on thousands of rolls of film. Cindy never threw anything away, not even fuzzy digital pictures. In 2002 she and Judy moved to the Philadelphia suburbs where they enjoyed having four real seasons and all the cultural activity they had the time and energy for. She especially enjoyed author events at the Free Library of Philadelphia. From here they continued their world travels. The day she went Mudlarking on the Thames with Janie in 2017 was one of the best days of her life. During the last five years of her life, she faced many health challenges, all without complaint. She had been feeling good for a few months and was even planning a trip to Sweden in April of 2020. Alas, while doing laundry (she wanted to contribute) she lost her balance and took what seemed a minor fall. However, the aspirin she took prophylactically post-TIA caused a brain hemorrhage which led to her death eleven days later. Her cremains rest under her bird feeder. A redwood tree has been planted in her name at 38.01937,-122.67241. Bookplates bearing witness to her love of reading can be found in books at The Free Library of Abington and The Rothrock Library. She supported charities too numerous to mention. Her focus was on animal welfare, the environment, and education for women and children. She was a model citizen of the world and did not suffer fools gladly. She always voted. She always wore a poppy on Remembrance Day she was quite the Anglophile and loved the Queen of England). She was loyal to a fault. She was always right. Really. She was not perfect though. She could not dance, nor carry a tune. She is sorely missed. Last but not least, she relished quirky obituaries. Note: I was unable to get this posted as her obituary for some reason. So here it is as a tribute. Judy