Yarnik

Gregory Scott Yarnik, 66, of Palatine, Ill. and formerly of Staunton, Ill., died on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2023 in Arlington Heights. Gregory was born Sept. 20, 1957 in Staunton the eldest son of the Late Arthur H. and Norma J. (nee Pervinsek) Yarnik and both preceded him in death.

Greg married Heidi Hanson at St. John’s Lutheran Church of Lincolnwood, Ill. on July 29, 1994. The day Gregory passed away, the afternoon sky hosted a beautiful sunset and Heidi Hanson, who survives him, named it “The Greg Yarnik Memorial Sunset.” and she asks that for every Nov. 18 Greg be remembered at sunset.

Greg was a 1975 graduate of Staunton High School where he played baseball and began his love of the theater performing in school productions. He attended MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill. graduating in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science in both biology and philosophy. Greg then moved to Bloomington-Normal to attend graduate school at Illinois State University (ISU) where he earned a Master’s of Science in Biological Sciences.

Greg was the beloved husband, best friend and permanent dive-buddy of Heidi Hanson for 29.5 years. They met at Illinois State University, Bloomington-Normal in 1981. They spent their lives as educators with special emphasis on student’s enrolling in college and post graduate plans. Greg encouraged in Heidi a deep love and respect of the natural world both above and below sea-level. Diving warm waters and exploring out-of-the-way islands was a lifelong passion. In recent years they began to travel more of the U.S., such as N.Y. City for theater and for exploring Native American Pueblos in the desert Southwest.

Greg spent 37 years working for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District whose insignia reads, “Protecting Our Water Environment” above an image of Chicago’s lakefront. He retired as a Supervising Environmental Specialist on June 30, 2022 after a career of frontline work in protecting Lake Michigan and Chicago waterways and by extension the public health of Cook County residents. Greg also educated DuPage County residents through his 37 year long tenure as an adjunct Biology Instructor at the College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Ill.

He was an avid runner, completing two Chicago marathons and Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn. Greg and Heidi were fond of spending his birthday at Wrigley Field; he proudly wore his Cardinals gear while Heidi wore Cubs. On Sunday mornings he loved to meet at Mikes Bike Shop in Palatine and head out with the boys for a 30 mile ride. Very recently, Mikes Bikes completed assembly of Greg’s piece de resistance which is a hand sized, hand welded custom frame painted by Dario Pegoretti, an Italian bicycle framebuilder. Greg’s bike will be at his Celebration of Life on Sunday, Dec. 17. Greg and Heidi have seen well over a thousand live music performances from N.Y.C to Kauai, Hawaii, Greg kept a log of every single show.

Greg lived a life with emphasis on leaving this world a better, healthier place. Even when faced with distributing his ashes, Greg’s decision showed his compassion to leave this world a better place. He chose Eternal Reef located in Flo. A recent Miami Herald article about Eternal Reef’s (4/19/2023) headline encapsulates Greg’s life, “Undersea memorials to loved ones also may help revive Florida’s dying coral reefs.”

An Eternal Reef is a permanent memorial that places the cremated remains in the ocean and creates new life as a reef habitat for fish, turtles and other forms of sea life including his favorite the Octopi as evidenced by his placement of an Octopus tattoo on his lower leg.In lieu of flowers, memorials appreciated to the Go Fund Me Sight created by Heidi, Greg Yarnik Eternal Reef Fund c/o:https://www.gofundme.com/f/greg-yarniks-eternal-reefs-memorial. Greg loved to instill in his students, colleagues, family and friends a love of the environment and ways to protect it from harm. He was extremely well loved and popular amongst his students and colleagues. As one of them recently wrote, “He came from a very small town in Illinois and lived a very large life, “Salt of the Earth,” he made this world a better place.” “Enjoy Every Sandwich” –Warren Zevon. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Gregory Scott Yarnik, please visit our flower store.