Yvonne Billera
Yvonne T. Billera died suddenly on November 30, 2013 from complications of a ruptured colon. She was born in 1950 in New York to Jeanne Beck, originally from England, and Christopher Trytko from Poland. Raised as an only child, Yvonne spent her childhood cultivating long-term friendships and developing a passion for riding horses. Although starting out as an art history major at College of New Rochelle, she finished as an English major.
Yvonne worked for 19 years at College of New Rochelle, having been recruited by the College as one of the youngest administrators ever hired. She was Vice President of Administration specializing in fund raising by the time she left. She met Franklin in 1986 and soon thereafter decided to retire early and feed their passion for sailing, bought a large yacht that became their home for 6 years, and explored the eastern seaboard from Maine, throughout the Caribbean, to the northern shores of South America.
The couple moved to Whidbey in 1995, drawn to the west as Franklin’s son, Tony, and family were living in the area. Yvonne immediately became active with WAIF, helping rehome many dogs and cats and acting as President for several years. She rekindled her love of horses becoming involved in jumping, eventing, trail riding and finally dressage. She worked at Moonraker Books in Langley for about 14 years, assisting many of us to find our favorite books. She was a great cook and generously shared her recipes.
Yvonne often commented on her fortunate life - feeling luckier than most. She loved, enjoyed and appreciated her husband. She loved the many adventures with her horses and the friendships developed through them. Her dogs added spice and constant companionship. She was a loyal friend, smart, witty, beautiful, classy and hard working with a compassion for the less fortunate. Her greatest recent achievement was bringing along her Welsh cob, who couldn’t canter when she got him, to 4th level in the dressage world. Her zest for life was contagious – making her friends dance and laugh and not be so worried about growing older as she continued to have fun until the end. As one friend remarked, “From a young age she had an inner light and understood friendship.”
Yvonne is survived by her husband Franklin; her mother Jeanne Chelchowski (FL); sisters Maia O'Donnell (FL), Eva Kelly (FL) and Ania Allwarden (NH); brothers-in-law Jack, Ferg and Chris; stepsons Tony (WA) and Charles (TX); and nieces and nephews Brendan, Chris, Diana, Tara, Ferg, Michael, Brian, Kevin and Julie, scattered along the East Coast.
Viewings will be at St. Hubert’s Catholic Church in Langley on Thursday, December 5 from 7 to 9 pm and again Friday morning at 10:00 am. The service will be held at St. Hubert’s at 11 am on Friday, December 6, with a burial service immediately following at Sunnyside Cemetery in Coupeville. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be sent in Yvonne's name to WAIF, P. O. Box 1108, Coupeville, WA 98239. Family and friends are encouraged to share memories and condolences at www.whidbeymemorial.com.

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