Karen Yankovich was born to Joseph and Eva (Loncar) Yankovich in Los Angeles, California. The oldest of three children, Karen loved her family and dedicated her life to educating those with special needs and helping to rehabilitate prisoners into mainstream society. Karen worked at Patton State Hospital and Atascadero State Hospital before moving her family to Wasco in 1990 in order to set-up and manage the vocational rehabilitation department at the Wasco Prison. After retiring from the prison system, Karen went back to her first love of teaching and taught severely disabled individuals for Kern County. She was truly gifted at being able to love those on the fringes of our society and draw out their best. Karen will be greatly missed by her family and friends. Karen was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Joseph. She is survived by her brother, Johnny Yankovich, and her two children – Ruddy Brillouet of Wasco and Carla (Brillouet) Evans and her husband Josh Evans of New Hampshire. She is also survived by her two grandchildren, Connor and Andrew Evans. A memorial service will be held at Peter's Funeral Home in Wasco on Friday, October 5, 2012 at 2pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Wasco Scholarship Fund, PO Box 7, Wasco, CA 93280