Mary Yoh, 78, philanthropist

Mary Milus Yoh, 78, of Haverford and Key Largo, Fla., the matriarch of the Yoh family and an active volunteer and philanthropist in the Philadelphia region and in Florida, died Sunday, June 28, of congestive heart failure at her Key Largo home.

Mrs. Yoh, whose father worked for the DuPont Co., grew up in Delaware and attended Duke University, where she met Harold L. "Spike" Yoh.

The two married after she graduated in 1959, and started a family in California. They settled on the Main Line in 1963 to raise their five children.

Mrs. Yoh was active in the Haverford and Agnes Irwin Schools, which her children attended. She taught Sunday school at the Church of the Redeemer, and volunteered for numerous charitable and educational organizations, such as the St. Edmond's Home for Children, Bryn Mawr Hospital, and Duke.

She supported her husband's long career as the chairman and CEO of Day & Zimmerman, a large firm that specializes in construction, engineering, staffing, and defense solutions. The company has offices in Philadelphia and throughout the world.

The Yohs operated as a team, leading retreats, planning outings, and implementing fund-raisers both within the engineering firm and in the Philadelphia civic and charitable community.

The two also were active in the Young Presidents' Organization, a peer network of chief executives and business leaders.

"She was a leader in that she had a magnetic personality, and people were drawn to her," said son Bill. "They had a fondness for my mother and for the causes she was involved with."

Once they became empty nesters in the mid-1990s, the Yohs became residents of the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo. Mrs. Yoh continued her philanthropic activities on behalf of the Keys Children's Foundation and other Florida-based groups.

While they enjoyed spending time in the Philadelphia suburbs, Avalon, N.J., and at Ocean Reef, the Yohs also visited 60 countries. She was especially impressed by China and Sweden.

When she returned home from a trip, she would prepare the cuisine of the country she had toured.

"She cooked dinner every night," said her son. "When they got back from China, we had a lot of wok meals."

Her son said Mrs. Yoh "did everything she could to get us where we needed to be." She was a faithful presence at school events and athletic contests, he said.

"Mary is remembered as a loving wife, mother and grandmother, a true matriarch of the Yoh family, a dear friend, a leader and a difference maker for the many people and organizations with which she interacted," her family said in a tribute.

Besides her son and her husband of 56 years, Mrs. Yoh is survived by sons Hal, Mike and Jeff; 15 grandchildren; a great-grandson; and a brother. A daughter, Karen, died eight years ago.

Funeral services are to be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 7, at the Church of the Redeemer, 230 Pennswood Rd., Bryn Mawr. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo in December. Burial will be private.

Donations may be made to the Karen B. Yoh Foundation, c/o Ruth Watson, Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, 30 Valley Stream Pkwy., Malvern, Pa. 19355, or the Keys Children's Foundation, 24 Dockside Lane, PMB 139, Key Largo, Fla. 33037.

610-313-8102