More than anything, Cow, Brandon Yarnovich wants his grandmother to be at his graduation in 18 months. He credits Betty Yarnovich, a steelworker's widow and waitress for 35 years, for almost everything he's become. She raised her grandson because his parents died by the time he was 4. “I would be dead or in jail without her. She kept me solid. I was always the kid with the early curfew,” said Yarnovich, 21, a West Mifflin High School graduate in his third year at the Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.
These days, he is the one looking out for her. Yarnovich, 71, has bladder cancer, and her grandson has set up a GoFundMe account to help offset some of her medical and living expenses. At one point, she considered quitting chemotherapy because of the cost and side effects, he said. The fund, with a goal of $100,000, had raised more than $12,000 by Friday evening. “Her biggest motivator is me. She would be happy if she could simply make it another year to see me graduate from college,” he said.
Throughout his youth, Betty Yarnovich was a strong but quiet authority figure determined to see her grandson be the first in the family to attend college. Those who know them say the two are something closer to best friends. “I don't think she has to tell him to stay inside and study anymore,” said Judy Black, 58, a waitress who worked with Yarnovich. Full Story»