IN MEMORIAM
William L. Yeager, 97;
Owned Tieco-Unadilla
UNADILLA – William Lemaster Yeager, 97, former president and owner of Tieco-Unadilla Corp. and a community leader in the Tri-Town area, died May 5, 2019, in Naples, Fla.
He was born on Aug. 9, 1923, in The Bronx, then attended school in New Rochelle. He graduated from New Hampton School in New Hampshire, attended Brown University before World War II, and graduated from Babson College in Massachusetts.
Bill served in the Army Engineers in the South Pacific from 1942 to 1946.
He was very supportive of his community. His leadership positions included serving on the boards of Babson College, New Hampton School, The Hospital, Sidney. He was president and board member, Oneonta YMCA; founding board member, Community Foundation of Unadilla, and secretary and founding member of the Sidney Area Hospital Foundation. He was a president and longtime secretary of Unadilla Rotary Club, and he and his wife, Barbara, were Paul Harris Fellows. He was a member and elder of the Presbyterian Church of Unadilla.
Bill’s commitment to his community was only superseded by the love and pride he had for his family and for his dedication to always being the most supportive father and “Grandad” he could be.
He also had a lifelong love of golf and was always in search of ways to improve his game.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara Jane Kite; three daughters and sons-in-law, Lynn and Gardner McLean, Betsy Dawson and Nancy and Scott McLean; grandchildren, Carolyn (Christopher) McLean, Kathleen (Bradley) Backenstose, William McLean, Alex (Elizabeth) McLean, Robert (Allyson) McLean, Brittany Dawson, Brendon Dawson and Reid Dawson; great-grandchildren, William Backenstose and Elizabeth McLean; a niece, Majorie LaFever; nephew, James Cole; and cousin, Nancy Lemaster.
He was predeceased by his sister, Nancy Cole; and son-in-law, David Dawson.
Memorial donations may be directed to Presbyterian Church of Unadilla, P.O. Box Z, Unadilla, NY 13849, or Friends of Bassett (for Tri-Town Campus), 1 Atwell Road, Cooperstown, NY 13326.
A service will be held in Unadilla at a later date.
