Matushka Katherine (Evelyn Roane “Sissy”) Gooch Yerger, 73, wife of Archpriest Paul Yerger, Rector of Holy Resurrection Church here, fell asleep in the Lord unexpectedly on Wednesday, October 7, 2015.
Matushka Sissy was born in Houston, TX, on April 22, 1942, and grew up mainly in Texarkana, AR, and Richmond, VA. She attended Saint James Day School in Texarkana and Thomas Jefferson High School and Westhampton College in Richmond, where she went on to work for A.H. Robins pharmaceutical company and Virginia Commonwealth University. In 1971, she and her husband, then an Episcopalian clergyman, were married.
In 1977, the Yergers embraced Orthodox Christianity and settled in Jackson, MS. After his ordination to the priesthood, Father Paul became the first pastor of Holy Resurrection Church, which relocated to Clinton in 1980. Matushka Sissy served as the parish’s first choir director, bookstore manager, janitor, and everything in between. For many years she invited every visitor and single person at Saturday evening Vespers to her home for dinner, which contributed greatly to the growth of the community. In Jackson, she worked as Communications Director for United Way and Copy Editor for the Godwin Group advertising agency. In her youth she enjoyed sailing, horseback riding, golf, tennis, and jogging. She loved to visit the Monastery of the Transfiguration, Ellwood City, PA.
In addition to Father Paul, Matushka Sissy is survived by three daughters, Wisdom and Mary Yerger and Mrs. Margaret Elliott [Michael]; two grandsons, James Rucks and Paul Hite Elliott; two brothers; three sisters; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, John Hite Gooch, Jr., and Elizabeth Cave Gooch; her stepmother Ann Humphrey Bintliff Gooch; and a sister, Mary Jane Gooch.
Visitation will begin at Holy Resurrection Church, 414 East College St., Clinton, at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 9. The Funeral will be celebrated at 6:00 p.m. The Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 10 with interment at the Clinton Cemetery, adjacent to the church, followed by a mercy meal in the parish hall.
Memorial gifts may be made to Holy Resurrection Church, 414 East College St., Clinton, MS 39056-4710.
May Matushka Sissy’s memory be eternal!