Janet Joanne (Gurka) Yeager, 81, died Nov. 25, 2013, at Blough Healthcare Center after a battle with cancer. Born in Egypt (Whitehall Township), she was a daughter of the late John W. and Anna E. (Yakubecek) Gurka. She was the wife of Richard B. Yeager Sr. for 58 years.

She was a 1950 graduate of Whitehall High School. She was a graduate of Kutztown State Teachers' College and earned a master's degree from Lehigh University. She was a member of Kappa Delta Pi Honorary Society.

She taught for two years in the Quakertown School District. She was a first grade teacher for 26 years in the Bethlehem Area School District.

She was a member of Salem Lutheran Church where she taught Sunday School and Bible School for 18 years.

She was a life member of the PASR, Northampton County PASR, and BASD Retired Teachers' Association. She, along with her husband, attended 19 Elderhostels.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by two sons, Joel R. of Birmingham, Ala. and Richard B. Jr. and his wife Dawn (Kleinfelter) of Elizabethtown; and a daughter, Johanna, wife of Stephen W. Reisteter of Bethlehem.

Contributions may be made to Salem Lutheran Church, 514 Third Ave., Bethlehem, PA 18018; Lehigh Valley Hospice, 2166 S. 12th St., Allentown, PA 18103; or the American Cancer Society, 3893 Adler Place, Bethlehem, PA 18017.

Arrangements were made by Pearson Funeral Home Inc., Bethlehem.