Michelina T. Yarnevich

Michelina (Cosentino) Yarnevich was a source of strength to all those who knew her. Born August 27th, 1922 to loving parents Dante and Beatrice Cosentino, she became the oldest of six children (Jim, Jerry, Mary Gertrude, Dante, and Joyce). A fierce protector, she was always a leader in her family and in her life. Her childhood was happily spent in Northeast Kansas City, where she and her siblings would play with the neighborhood children, walk to the park to play tennis, and drive along Cliff Drive.

Mickey often described her life’s chapters by the homes she lived in. First born into a home on Hardesty, she then moved with her family into a colonial on Van Brunt that she lovingly referred to as her Tara House her entire life (a reference from Gone with the Wind). She loved that house and the memories she had there living with her siblings, her maternal grandparents, and her parents. During the depression, they lost the house and moved into another on Van Brunt, where she stayed until she married. She graduated high school from St. Agnes in 1939 and subsequently spent a year at Mount St. Scholastica College.

After college, Mickey worked for National Bellas Hess for several years, where her propensity for business really began to shine. A hard worker with a sharp mind, Mickey earned a reputation as being a reliable and trustworthy employee.

She met her husband Michael Yarnevich at the Pla-Mor Ballroom in Kansas City at a dance. Mickey would go on to tease him later in life that the only time he danced with her was the night they met and their wedding night. Their courtship was filled with love and determination as Mike would travel from Kansas City, KS on two different streetcars to come and see her. They married on September 9, 1950. When asked to give advice to her grandchildren and grand-nieces and nephews regarding love, she said, “Be nice to one another. There’s nothing like walking through this life with someone by your side.” She and Mike walked with one another for sixty-four years before his passing.

After their wedding, Mickey and Mike moved to their home above the pool hall in Strawberry Hill in Kansas City, Kansas. There she and Mike were blessed with two children, Stanley and Anita. She lived happily with her family, watching proudly as Stan and Anita grew. She loved watching Stan play basketball and Anita dance.

Always the protector and care taker, Mickey was asked by her father in his final days to look after her brothers and sisters and to take care of the grocery store. That next week she began working side by side with her siblings, utilizing her shrewd business skills and frugality that she honed through the depression and her early work. She would always advise, “watch the cash flow.” Her actions were defined by steadfastness, love and getting done what needs to get done. Mickey negotiated payment plans, knocked on customer doors, and managed invoices; she was a force to be reckoned with. Through sacrifices and hardships, Mickey approached her life with a pragmatic sense of getting it done; she saw the positive in the world and believed always that the Good Lord would take care of it.

In her retirement, Mickey loved going to Las Vegas, going to the casinos, playing cards with friends, and spending time with her family. She loved watching old movies and knew all of the actors and actresses from her time.

Mickey and Mike moved into their final home in Kansas City, Missouri for the remainder of her years. Here she enjoyed her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as they played by the pool each summer, watched fireworks, and hid Easter eggs. The children were always the light in her eyes and she would ask about them into her final moments.

Mickey passed away on August 2nd, 2021, just shy of her 99th birthday. When described, she was deemed a “warrior woman,” a nickname only too accurate. She worked her entire life, facing challenges head on and acting as a safe harbor from any storms her family or friends were enduring. She will be dearly missed, but through her example, she instilled that same strength and positivity into those around her. Because of this, she will always live on in her family and in our hearts.

She is welcomed into heaven by her husband Michael; her parents; her brothers Jim and Dante; her sister Mary Gertrude; her brother-in-laws Bud and Dan; her sister-in-laws Mary Sue, Frances and Billie; and her nephew and niece Jamie and Kathy.

She is survived by her two children Stan Yarnevich (Charlene) and Anita Basham (Brian); four grandchildren Michael Yarnevich (Amber), Christa Yarnevich, Angela MacDonald (Michael) and Allison Stafford (Clay); five great-grandchildren (Ryan, Jacob, Lina, Liam, Lyla - and another coming this September); her brother Jerry, her sister Joyce, and countless loving nieces, nephews, and friends.