Jerry Yahner of Ebensburg left a career he loved to care for his mother and another job when multiple sclerosis attacked his central nervous system. But these days he’s doing what he truly loves.

Yahner, a journalism graduate from Pitt-Johnstown, is writing.

A frequent contributor to The Tribune-Democrat’s Reader’s Forum, Yahner has written hundreds of speeches, letters and other documents for those who request his help.

Many times a recent graduate asks for assistance with a resume.

Yahner is concerned that today’s youth are so busy playing video games that their imaginations are not being developed.

“The culture is very distracting,” he said.

“(Young people) are missing out on something very important to them; something that will be important throughout their lifetime.”

So two years ago, Yahner started the Central Cambria Writing Festival.

His team of more than 75 volunteers gathered books from the community and held a book sale to fund the event.

More than 1,000 students participated.

“I am an advocate of good writing,” Yahner said. “I want to encourage young people to get back to the pen and pencil and just use their imagination. Writing nurtures that creative genius in all of us.”

Although success can’t easily be measured, Yahner believes his efforts will pay off.

“I was stopped by a mother whose son won an award,” he recalled. “She said he was dyslexic all though school and for him to get an award for writing meant the world to her.”

Although the festival is Yahner’s passion, he has put it aside for now to care for his mother, who is recovering from a serious stroke as well as a recent fall.

“My family comes first,” he said.

Yahner walks with a cane, but he is grateful to be able to help with his mother’s care.

He credits family members and many health-care professionals for enabling him to keep his mother at his home.

He called his wife, Cathy, “golden” and “understanding” for accepting the living arrangements and his devotion to his mother.

The couple’s sons, Jeremy and Tim, who attend college and commute from home, also are very helpful.

“I don’t know what I would do without them,” Yahner said.

June Yahner is retired from Laurel Crest Manor, where she cared for other people.

“And now she is the one that needs care,” her son said. “It’s hard because she has always been the caregiver.”

Yahner called his mother “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.”

“I wish I had just a quarter of what she has,” he said.

Although he acknowledges that caring for an elderly loved one can be grueling, Yahner wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I am just grateful every day that she wakes up and smiles at me,” he said.

Yahner has taken criticism for sticking up for the president’s efforts to get universal health-care coverage.

“But I’ve seen the need firsthand,” he said. “I don’t have a lot of money, but I was blessed to have health insurance. There are so many who have nothing.”

Yahner’s work experience includes a stint as a casino service representative for the Golden Nugget Hotel in Atlantic City.

Although he left when his mother first showed signs of needing his care, he has a lot of great memories from those days and spoke highly of his employers.

“They gave me great license to make sure the customer was happy,” he said.

Yahner was able to meet several celebrities while working at the hotel.

Some of his favorites were Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton and Natalie Cole.

“And Willie Nelson was just beloved by everybody,” he said. 

“If you opened the door for Willie, he’d give you $50 or $100.”

Yahner said he didn’t want to leave his job, but was rewarded for his sacrifice.

“I returned home, and I was lucky enough to marry the most wonderful woman in the world,” he said.

Yahner took a job in food service at the federal prison in Loretto, another job he enjoyed.

But in 1995, that dream ended as well.

“One day when I was leaving the facility, I could not feel my feet,” he said. “I was actually standing on my ankle.”

Yahner dismissed it, thinking he had nothing more serious than a pinched nerve.

But things got worse until he was diagnosed with MS.

His employers were very understanding.

“I was able to retire,” Yahner said. “But I was only 35.”

For a while the future looked pretty bleak to a man who prided himself on being a hard worker.

“I went through a spiral downward – but I was able to pull myself back up,” he said.

These days, Yahner is doing the two things that bring him the most happiness. He cares for his beloved mother and he writes.

“It’s not all about money,” he said. “If you have your health and you have somebody to love – that’s really the secret to a good life.”