I worked with Lori Yoho for twelve years at the Golden Corral Dublin- Granville location. For those of you who did not know her as close as I did, I would like to tell you about her qualities as a manager and as a person. I was the General Manager at Golden Corral and she was my Certified Assistant Manager. Over the years she became my right hand person, someone I relied on and to whom I always counted on.
At Golden Corral she was always a hard working manager. She was a task person who would take a project on from the start and bring it to completion with ease and with little or no supervision. Often times she would use self initiative and common sense to start such projects by herself. She had excellent organizational skills and was always the first person I would go to, to prepare the restaurant for an upcoming inspection whether by: the Health Department, SteriTech, CSQ or by the Home Office. She was a "night person", who loved to close down the restaurant in the evening, always on time and following our standards 100%.
What made Lori special was not necessarily her qualities as a Manager, but rather her qualities as person. She was a family person, a proud mother of her only son John and grandmother to her beautiful granddaughter. She was someone who truly cared about people. Any accident we had in the restaurant, whether involving co-workers or guests, she was always the first one to rush to the scene and call the ambulance, perform the first aid or contact the family members. If any of our co-workers had a conflict with each other or with one of the managers, she was always the first person to step in and intermediate the situation. If one or our co- workers was in need due to an injury or death in the family, she was the first person to start collecting money. One story that reminds me of her kind heart is: a few years ago when she brought in her friend to live with her, who was terminally ill. Lori’s friend had no relatives and only had a few months to live. Lori not only took care of him at her house for a year until his death, but also took care all of his hospital appointments and managing his insurance and doctor bills.
Before important business days at Golden Corral like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or Thanksgiving, Lori would take the initiative to start a to-do list of all the tasks that needed to be done before the big day. During Christmas time, she was the first one to put the Christmas tree up, start hanging the decorations around the restaurant and start planning and organizing the holiday party. Many times supervisors didn’t give enough credit to assistants like Lori, but I always appreciated her dedication and loyalty.. Lori was truly a hidden treasure of an assistant manager, an unrecognized hero who contributed so much to the restaurant’s success and the people around her.
A few weeks before I retired from Golden Corral, Lori left Golden Corral on a leave of absence due to a chronic shoulder problem. About six months ago, my wife and I had the pleasure of going to Lori and Chris’s wedding. She married Chris Meyer, a nice young man whom she had started dating a year before she had left Golden Corral. I was so happy to see her happy. After many years struggling as a single mom, she finally was getting what she deserved: a loving husband, a nice house in the country and many good years to come.
We all know that one day we will pass away; but we don’t know when. It always hurts more when it happens to someone you feel so close too and so unexpectedly. It hurts even more when the life is cut short and too soon.
One thing I will never forget about Lori was that she would always come up with souvenirs or gifts to give you when you were in-need or having a bad day. Whether it was a piece of candy, a keychain, or something for your headache, she was always there trying to make your day better. I remember when I was going to the hospital for a major surgery, she had given me a little angel to give me strength and courage to get through my operation. It gives me strength today knowing that she is with the angels now.
I will always miss you Lori.
Jim Ozmeral
4/12/2013
Dublin, Ohio 
