Saga employees cope with loss of coworker
Debbie Yinger, 51, 'the best mom you could ever ask for' suddenly died Oct. 3
David Steffen
Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: News
During the final hours of her life, Saga Inc. employee Debbie Yinger - unaware of her illness's severity - was reluctant to accept medical evacuation to Fort Wayne, Ind., because she was determined to go to work the next day.
"I ran up to the hospital with her son," said Saga employee and Yinger's close friend, Janet Good. "She thought she'd go to work -that's all she had thought about…but no. She loved her job."
Yinger, of Hillsdale, died on Oct. 3 at the Hillsdale Community Health Center after succumbing to an aneurysm. She was 51.
Yinger had worked a full day at Saga on Oct. 3 and went to the hospital after feeling unwell. Doctors recommended she be transported to Fort Wayne for emergency care. She died before leaving for Fort Wayne.
Three weeks later, Good said work at Saga has been a difficult transition without her close friend and colleague by her side. She still expects to see her at every turn.
"It is hard," Good said. "Every time the door opens, I look to see if she's there. Her locker is right next to mine. I still open it and look in."
Good became close friends with Yinger after joining Saga three years ago. Their friendship grew as Yinger showed Good the ropes in Saga.
"She'd come in and help out," Good said. "We started talking, and we both hit it off. We were both redheads. We got along very well, and we had the same things in common."
She said they especially loved attending garage sales together and chatting in Yinger's back yard. Both loved their families. They even walked into work together every day, prompting fellow colleagues to nickname them "twins."
"We came in together," Good said. "We had the same shift - that's why they called us the 'umbilical twins.' We also had our lockers next to each other."
Yinger's son, Tommy Yinger, of Hillsdale, said his mother was devoted to her job at Saga, to her family and to her two Boxer dogs, Jesse and Duke - "her babies," he said.
"She wanted to go back to work," Tommy Yinger said. "And she said she had to go home and do some laundry and take care of 'her babies.' "
"I ran up to the hospital with her son," said Saga employee and Yinger's close friend, Janet Good. "She thought she'd go to work -that's all she had thought about…but no. She loved her job."
Yinger, of Hillsdale, died on Oct. 3 at the Hillsdale Community Health Center after succumbing to an aneurysm. She was 51.
Yinger had worked a full day at Saga on Oct. 3 and went to the hospital after feeling unwell. Doctors recommended she be transported to Fort Wayne for emergency care. She died before leaving for Fort Wayne.
Three weeks later, Good said work at Saga has been a difficult transition without her close friend and colleague by her side. She still expects to see her at every turn.
"It is hard," Good said. "Every time the door opens, I look to see if she's there. Her locker is right next to mine. I still open it and look in."
Good became close friends with Yinger after joining Saga three years ago. Their friendship grew as Yinger showed Good the ropes in Saga.
"She'd come in and help out," Good said. "We started talking, and we both hit it off. We were both redheads. We got along very well, and we had the same things in common."
She said they especially loved attending garage sales together and chatting in Yinger's back yard. Both loved their families. They even walked into work together every day, prompting fellow colleagues to nickname them "twins."
"We came in together," Good said. "We had the same shift - that's why they called us the 'umbilical twins.' We also had our lockers next to each other."
Yinger's son, Tommy Yinger, of Hillsdale, said his mother was devoted to her job at Saga, to her family and to her two Boxer dogs, Jesse and Duke - "her babies," he said.
"She wanted to go back to work," Tommy Yinger said. "And she said she had to go home and do some laundry and take care of 'her babies.' "
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