Shirley J. Yost

Harvard resident Shirley J. Yost, 94, passed away Tuesday, December 30, 2025, at Mary Lanning Healthcare, Hastings.

Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday, January 5, at Butler Volland Chapel in Hastings with Pastor Frank VanCampen officiating. Burial will follow at Harvard Cemetery. Visitation will be 3-5 p.m. with family present on Sunday, January 4, at the funeral home, and one hour before the service. Memorials may be given to the Harvard Fire Department. The service will be live-streamed on Livingston Butler Volland Funeral Home’s website. To view the service, go to Shirley’s obituary and click the play button shown toward the bottom of the page. 

Shirley was born on October 23, 1931, in Shelby, Nebraska to Perry and Harriet (Dodderer) Jorn, joining her older sister, Leattrice Ann, to complete their family. Because Shirley’s parents were teachers, she attended several schools- Glenvil, Nora, Ohiowa, and then graduated from Edgar in 1948. She graduated from Hastings College in 1952. Shirley began teaching high school English in Glenvil and later taught at Roseland, Clay Center, and Trumbull.

Shirley’s Christian faith had always been important to her as evidenced by her decades of church attendance, her continuous Bible studies, and her spiritual outlook on life. She was baptized at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Verdon, Nebraska. She was then confirmed at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Ohiowa, Nebraska. She was an active member for many years in the First United Methodist Church in Harvard.

On November 26, 1954, Shirley married LaVerne Yost at First St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hastings. Through this union, the couple welcomed two daughters, Cynthia Reutzel (Harvard, NE) and Teresa Nickens (Greeley, CO). They farmed and lived in the Harvard and Inland areas until returning to farm LaVerne’s family farm in 1973, where they farmed while she taught in Trumbull. After retiring from teaching, Shirley became involved in Women Involved in Farm Economics (WIFE), serving as the eastern spokeswoman and giving various presentations to agricultural entities, including testifying before the United States Secretary of Agriculture. After retirement, Shirley and LaVerne enjoyed many years of traveling throughout the United States.

Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, Perry & Harriet (Dodderer) Jorn; her husband of 70 years, LaVerne Yost; brother-in-law, Charles Smith; along with LaVerne’s sister, Mary Jane Yost.

Shirley is survived by her daughters, Cynthia (Kenneth) Reutzel and Teresa (John) Nickens; grandchildren, Mirinda (Michael) Boyd, Benton (Brandy) Reutzel, and Whitney (Kayla) Reutzel. Additional survivors include her sister, Ann Smith; brother-in-law, Marvin Yost; six great-grandchildren, four nephews, and other extended family and friends.