Archived Story
Friday, April 4, 2003
By TAMMY J. McCOY/Staff Writer
BARSTOW -- American flags hung at half-staff throughout the city Thursday and smaller ones lined Barstow Road as symbolic gestures of tribute and expressions of a community in mourning.
Staff photo by Hans K. Meyer
Father Joe Borba, left, laughs with the nearly 600 people who attended Katie Yslas-Yent's funeral mass Thursday. Borba asked the congregation to share stories about Yslas-Yent's life, and Bill Jackson, right, told about the time she bought a resident of the Veterans Home of California, Barstow a pair of new shoes.
Strangers and friends bound together by grief and love exchanged comforting embraces as they paid tribute to Barstow's former mayor, Katherine Marie "Katy" Yslas-Yent.
"She was so much more than a good wife, a loving mother and a public servant," said her former boss, First District Supervisor Bill Postmus. "She was the embodiment of all our hopes and dreams."
Yslas-Yent worked as Postmus' Barstow field representative from 2000 until 2002.
More than 500 people, seemingly from every walk of life, filled the pews inside Saint Joseph Catholic Church to honor the 60-year-old woman, who died of cancer at her Barstow home Saturday. Members of the county's legal and law enforcement communities, local dignitaries, business leaders, area educators and church parishioners joined Yslas-Yent's family.
A steady and quiet chorus of sobs and sniffles could be heard throughout the church service.
"Katy's life has not ended; it has changed," said the Rev. Joe Borba. "She was not afraid to say she was a Christian and that takes a lot of courage when you are in public life."
He recalled that she had a dazzling smile and treated everyone with an equal measure of respect, regardless of their station in life. Borba then walked past the many large bouquets of colorful flowers surrounding her casket, close to the pews, and invited people to share their memories of Yslas-Yent.
"She could forgive," said Councilwoman Helen Runyon.
Others said she was a wonderful friend with boundless energy who put others' needs ahead of her own.
"She tried to bring the community together," one man said.
Borba looked around the crowded church then said Yslas-Yent brought the community together on this day.
Yslas-Yent was born in Seligman, Ariz. and lived in Barstow for more than 50 years. She graduated from Barstow High School in 1960 and attended LaVerne University for two years, receiving her paralegal AA. Yslas-Yent was a Superior Court clerk for Judge Lee Simmons for 17 years during her 20-year tenure, from 1980 until 2000, in Barstow's courthouse.
She was elected to the Barstow City Council in 1994 for two years, then served as mayor until 2000. Yslas-Yent was a vocal supporter of the Veterans Home of California -- Barstow, and instrumental in founding the Barstow Association of Governments, as well as programs aimed at helping the needy and children. She played an active role in organizing Martin Luther King Day remembrance events and the city's Christmas tree-lighting ceremony.
Her tireless efforts on behalf of the community earned her numerous accolades. She was honored with the Government Community Leadership and Service Award in 1997. Four years later she was named the 17th State Senatorial District's Woman of the Year and the Barstow Area Chamber of Commerce named her Woman of Continuous Service for the year 2001.
The church service merged Yslas-Yent's Mexican heritage, her Catholic faith and her upbeat nature.
Priests dangled incense over her casket, symbolic of God listening to prayers. Relatives read Bible scriptures while a choir performed Spanish songs, and another duo sang a gospel version of "Amazing Grace."
Following the service, many attended a graveside service at Mountain View Memorial Park cemetery.
"Her enthusiasm was borne of pure love," Postmus said. "She continued to maintain and build the community she loved ... Katy touched each and every one of our hearts."
Tammy J. McCoy can be reached at tammy_mccoy@link.freedom.com or 256-4126.