Robert Timothy (Tim) Yeager, 73, died on April 2, 2024 while undergoing treatment for recently-diagnosed cancer. Born on Aug. 24, 1950 in Charles City, Iowa to Robert Benjamin and Bernadine Ann Yeager (Thompson), while attending high school he was the sports reporter for the Charles City Press, editor of the school newspaper, and an Eagle Scout. He avoided a tornado that hit his hometown in 1968 because he skipped pipe organ practice at the church that day. He spent several summers with his family collecting dental equipment, which they delivered to rural villages in Mexico, where his father provided free dental care.
After earning his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Iowa, he was admitted to the bar in 1978 and began his long service as a Legal Aid attorney providing free legal services to the poor. He served as district organizer of the Iowa/Nebraska chapter of the Communist Party USA from the late 1970s until 1989, then settled in Chicago in search of new ways to serve the cause of justice. He became a union representative for his Midwestern Legal Aid colleagues, joined the National Organization of Legal Services Workers, UAW Local 2320 as organizer, then became staff counsel, and finally financial secretary in 2002. He remained active in the party in the Chicago area for years, organizing for change by building coalitions.
Tim married his first wife, Suzan Erem, in 1987. They honeymooned in the German Democratic Republic where in 1973 he had attended the World Festival of Youth and Students and the May Day Parade.
His daughter Ayshe was born in 1992 in Oak Park. Tim and Suzan divorced five years later, and in early 1998, he met Caroline Moores at the Ridgeland Green Line station and they married a year later in the garden of their new home.
He read for Holy Orders and was ordained an Episcopal priest through Grace Church in Oak Park in 2011. At his ceremony, his union brothers and sisters sang the labor movement anthem, “Solidarity Forever,” in a moving tribute to his commitment to social justice and his faith. In 2012, he became the priest-in-charge at St. Andrew’s Church on the West Side of Chicago.
In 2014, it was time for Tim to move with Caroline back to her home country, the UK, where he took up the Church of England post of vicar at St. George’s Church, Westcombe Park. He was instrumental in taking St George’s to its first Pride Parade in 2020. He developed the Galilee Course, which is still running today. In 2019, he received a Civic Award for Services to the Community of Greenwich in recognition of his selfless and compassionate work.
He enjoyed exploring the British Isles. In 2017, he and Caroline traveled to Germany to discover the Yeager-Thompson family house and farm where his great-great-grandparents lived before moving to Iowa.
He was well-known for his musical accompaniment at demonstrations, banquets, and church services on the piano, pipe organ, bagpipes, and accordion.
Tim is preceded in death by his parents, Robert “Bob” Yeager and Bernadine Yeager, and his nephew, William Moores. He is survived by his wife Caroline Moores; his daughter, Ayshe Yeager; his brother, Dan (Jeanine) Yeager; his nieces, Hanna Yeager and Hillary Yeager-Davis (Kylar Davis); his brother-in-law Philip (Tracy) Moores, and his nephew, Alexander Moores.
A celebration of life will be held in the Chicago area in September. Visit timyeager.muchloved.com for a link to the video recording of the funeral, for details on the memorial service, and to post memories and condolences.
The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to causes that honor Tim’s passion for justice. Among these are:
Oxfam Gaza Crisis Fund, https://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam-in-action/current-emergencies/gaza-crisis-appeal/; Medicin Sans Frontieres, https://www.msf.org/donate; and Onebodyonefaith, https://www.onebodyonefaith.org.uk.