Pamela Sybela Yarish, age 80, of Rice Lake, WI, died Monday, September 30, 2024 at her home.

She was born on Sept. 22, 1944 in Rice Lake WI to Miriam and Robert Yarish. Robert was serving his country in England. She was given an English name in his honor. Sybela, as she later preferred to be called, was an accomplished musician and pianist. After graduation from Rice Lake High School in 1962, she went on to the University Of Wisconsin in Madison, graduating in 3 years with 3 majors. During her life, she traveled the world with the love of her life Jesse Katz. He died in a car accident in the mid seventies and she spent the rest of her life as a single person, still traveling and connecting with people wherever she went. She was a passionate advocate for the forgotten. She rescued dogs from puppy mills, was actively involved with a Social Justice organization, devoted time to the Tibetan Nuns of San Francisco. Many a person without a place to live ended up staying in her home. Wherever she could, she volunteered her devotion and time. She had settled in San Francisco, but after an illness returned to Rice Lake where she settled happily with her 3 dogs for the past 20 years. She was a practicing Buddhist, but attended the Presbyterian Church with her father most Sundays until his death in 2021. The people at Presbyterian became like her family. She was at the bedside of both of her parents when they passed. Sybela went to her forever place after a lengthy illness in the sunshine of her home in the company of a devoted friend.

Sybela was survived by her sister Linda Gretchen (Yarish) Lindgren, brother R. Scott Yarish, and brother Mark Vey Yarish, and some nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews - all displayed proudly on her refrigerator.

We will miss her sense of humor, her gentleness and her passion for what she believed in.

No services are planned at this time.

Appleyard’s Home for Funerals in Rice Lake, Wisconsin is assisting and serving the family with the arrangements.

Last Update: Oct 14, 2024 7:38 am CDT