Mathematician and Professor of Mathematics Cleon Yohe's interests included studying science and learning languages, listening to music, making musical instruments. He played the banjo, guitar and violin. He also enjoyed art, literature, making model trains and airplanes. He was a member of Eliot Unitarian Chapel in Kirkwood.
Yohe received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1966. Dissertation: Matrices Over Commutative Noetherian Rings. Advisor: Israel (Yitzchak) Nathan Herstein. His research interests pertained to Algebras; relationship between the structure of a commutative ring and the properties of full matrix rings formed from it; structure of the endomorphism ring and the automorphism group of a module over a commutative Noetherian ring; computer generation of calculus examinations; computer algebra.
Long an active member of the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis, Professor Yohe often headed the statistics, undergraduate, and computing committees at the Department of Mathematics.
Cleon R. Yohe, Jr., died on June 26, 2012, at Delmar Gardens of Meramec Valley, losing his battle with cancer. He was born in Queens, New York, and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Central High in Philadelphia, received his undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania, and his doctorate at the University of Chicago. He was a mathematician and Professor Emeritus at Washington University in St. Louis where he taught from 1966 to 2010. Surviving are his wife Doris, his son, Karl of Santa Monica, California, his sister Linda Helbig of Mesa, Arizona, and stepson, Brian Bradshaw and his wife Cherish, and three step grandchildren, Alexandra, Benjamin, and Isabella.
Funeral services were held July 1, 2012, at 2pm at Eliot Unitarian Chapel, Kirkwood. Per Cleon's wishes, his body was donated to the National Body Donor Program for medical teaching purposes.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cancer Support Community of Greater St. Louis, 1058 Old Des Peres Road, St. Louis, MO 63131.
Read the article in memory of Professor Cleon Yohe in the Washington University Record⇨