Yvonne “Frenchie” Roark, 88, passed from this world to the next on Oct. 26, 2020.
Yvonne was born on Oct. 6, 1932, in Kennewick, Washington, to Manuel and Barbara Gleich Hille. Yvonne grew up in the Kennewick and Walla Walla, Washington-area with her brother, Gordon.
She married Lee Cornell in 1947. They had four children, then divorced. After her divorce, Yvonne became pregnant and chose to give the child up for adoption, being unmarried with four children. The child, Darlene, and Yvonne had recently reunited. They had not been able to meet one another in person but had phone conversations. Darlene called Yvonne her “Utah mom.” The family will meet Darlene soon.
After that birth, Yvonne moved to Moab in 1956 and worked as a hairdresser. This is where she met and married Dean Roark. They moved to the Washington area for about 10 years where they had five children. Then they moved back to Moab to raise their family.
Yvonne worked at Canyonlands Café for 20 years and worked at several other local restaurants after that.
When she divorced Dean, she moved in with Jerry Day, a man she had known a long time. Yvonne and Jerry spent the rest of their lives together, nearly 40 years. They had many good times, hunting trips and adventures. It was a good match!
Yvonne was preceded in death by her paramour, Jerry Day; a grandchild, Victor Fuentes; and two great-grandchildren, Ashton Christensen and Rosko Jimenez.
Yvonne is survived by her son, Clifford (Amy); her stepson, Jerry; her daughters, Linda, Debbie, Susan (Bill), Barbara, Darlene, Nancy, Betty, Geneva (Duke) and Laurie; her stepdaughter Roxie (Merrill); her roommate, Leslie Woodward Estes; and her 24 grandchildren, 43 great-grandchildren and 15 great-great-grandchildren.
A celebration of life will be held in Yvonne’s honor on Nov. 7, 2020, at 1 p.m. at Old City Park in Moab. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.spanishvalleymortuary.com.
