OLCHS Alumni Honor Late Band Director Charles Yara With Scholarship

OAK LAWN, IL — Oak Lawn Community High School Alumni Hall of Fame member Brian McCarty and his wife, Sandra Marolt McCarty, class of 1972, gifted senior Neo Martin with a Spartan Educational Scholarship in May.

Brian and Sandra funded the scholarship in honor of OLCHS band director Charles Yara. Charles died tragically on June 30, 1980, at the age of 42 while vacationing in California with his wife Barbara and young son Christopher. His car was hit head-on. Charles did not survive the accident. Barbara and Christopher sustained only minor injuries.

The McCartys described Charlie, who taught at Oak Lawn from 1964 to 1980, as a real unsung hero in the music program at Oak Lawn. He was a spectacular jazz trumpeter and many of that era benefitted from his mentorship.

~ Contributed by Jennifer Jepsen, OLCHS Staff Writer