April 23, 1939 - October 15, 2024
My dear friend Philip Yielding left us very quickly on the morning Tuesday October 15, 2024.
“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.” George Washington Carver
Philip had a special understanding of the above quote and lived by it because he, like many of us have been all those things. Some of you reading might remember him with his souped-up cars or know him as an artist, which was of course his lifelong passion. Or maybe you saw him out and about at coffee shops kibitzing with the girls and the other patrons. In reality he was a loner at heart, that Philip not everyone saw he was actually quiet and very compassionate. This empathetic part of him was his true side and why he was my best friend for almost 40 years.
When he was a younger man he always had time to stop and have a chat with the old guys at the mall, help an elderly lady, and always always had a 20 dollar bill for the guy who needed a sandwich or a pack of smokes. He would often buy a coffee for how shall I say this, the marginalized, people often treated as insignificant. Not by Philip though, he always sided with the underdog. He not only gave them money for coffee he would sit and enjoy a visit with them. He did this quietly not wanting recognition. To Philip everyone was equal, he loved learning from the successful business people he had done work for over the years but in his eyes they were the same as the guy on the street.
Philip was father to Lori Yielding and Perry Yielding. Grandfather to Dan Yielding Great grandfather to Brynn and Lainey of Winnipeg. He leaves behind his sister Jean Clarke and was predeceased by his brother Paul. He will be missed by the Taylor family and my husband Edward Huszar and missed more than ever by me, April Taylor.
In lieu of flowers, what Philip would love more than anything is for you to slow down, call your mother, say good morning to the homeless guy on the bench maybe even give him a few bucks on behalf of Philip. Say I love you to the ones most important to you. Let go of the grudges, be kind and help each other. Because in the end ... we are one ... and WE ARE ALL JUST WALKING EACH OTHER HOME.
Friends are invited to a service for Philip at the W.G Young Funeral Home, 430 Huron Street, Stratford on Sunday, October 20, at 3 p.m. A celebration of Philip’s life will follow in the funeral home reception centre. If you can’t make the funeral please come to the celebration. Donations in Philip’s memory may be made to the Stratford Connection Centre. www.wgyoungfuneralhome.com
