08/14/2026
Hello, Friends.
It is with a heavy heart that I must share that Roy Youker passed away Monday, August 10th at the age of 87 in his hometown of Traverse City, MI. As one of the founders of R.O. Youker, Inc., originally created as Weingardt-Youker & Associates, Inc. in 1967, Roy spent the next 41 years providing structural engineering services in Nebraska and the Midwest.
While having a gruff exterior, Roy had a huge, soft heart for those around him. He had a passion for engineering and passing that knowledge on to those who came through the office. Starting with Bob before me, we had nearly 20 young engineers come through the office during Roy’s tenure. I believe they all learned strong skills while here, and many have gone on to create exceptional careers for themselves around the country.
I still hear about what some describe as his “unyielding” (no engineering pun intended) nature, but what I’ve learned through the years is that he was not unyielding, he just had the experience to know what “works” and what “doesn’t”. His analytical skills and ability to tailor an engineered solution to an engineering “challenge” still amazes me. Even though he retired 17 years ago, I still come across his work as we are digitizing files and think, “How in the *& #^ did he come up with that idea?”.
On a personal note, Roy had a significant impact in shaping who I am as not only an engineer, but as a person. He had as much influence on me as my parents and grandparents. He had a unique perspective on things and the ability to summarize a challenging situation into its most basic components to simplify the decision at hand. I will miss his bright smile, tough love, and hearty laugh, but am forever grateful that this dumb 20 year old kid was given the opportunity to come to work for the engineering family that Roy fostered.
I hope you are enjoying sailing the ocean blue, ‘Graybeard’. (That’s what John Sampson always called him)
Mike
