Laurel (Tufts) Yanish, 76, of St. Cloud, Minn., died on April 18, 2026. Born on July 19, 1949, to John and Audrey Tufts of South Haven, she lived her life with a “tough and tender” attitude, carrying a heart that not only saw the good in everyone she met but believed deeply in their potential, even when they least deserved it. (And if you knew Laurel, she’d tell you that straight to your face and sometimes make you sit on the stairs until you heard her loud and clear.)
After graduating from Annandale High School, she married Stephen Yanish on August 17, 1968. The couple raised their family in Fairhaven among some of their best friends and neighbors. Laurel encouraged her husband unceasingly as he prepared for, was ordained and served as a deacon. Later, Steve and Laurel moved to the St. Cloud area, where they made even more special connections.
Laurel loved working as a chiropractic assistant in Kimball before beginning her career as a corrections officer for the Benton County Jail. In both roles, she was a source of encouragement, dignity and healing for the people she encountered. She had an extraordinary gift for seeing beyond someone’s mistakes to the person they could become. She lived the words of Matthew 25:40: “Whatever you did for one of the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me.”
She was a woman who gave everything for the people she cared about. She extended that same compassion even to those she barely knew, because she believed every person deserved to be seen. Laurel didn’t just talk about treating people right, she showed us how it’s done. And in true Laurel fashion, she spent her last days offering the hospice staff a few “helpful suggestions” delivered with love and that signature spark. Her family is ever grateful to her caregivers, especially CentraCare, Coborn Cancer Center and St. Croix Hospice.
Above all, she was a woman who loved boldly, guiding with a firm but gentle hand. In her final days, she knew exactly who she was going to meet — her Lord and Savior. Her family and friends take comfort in believing she is already preparing a place for them (and probably rearranging the furniture the way she wants it).
She pushed, challenged and supported her family and friends, teaching by example: to be strong, to be honest, to be kind and to never ever give up on the people you love. If you were hers, you knew it. And if you weren’t, she might adopt you anyway.
Her legacy lives on in those who knew her by blood and by bond: her ever-devoted love of her life, Steve, who never left her side; her three children, Robert, Kristi and Leigh, five grandchildren and their partners, five great‑grandchildren, her furry sidekick, Digby, and countless extended family and friends, which included just about everyone she knew.
A celebration of life will take place at Daniel Funeral Home in St. Cloud on Monday, April 27. Visitation will be from 9 to 11 a.m., with a short prayer service at 11. Light refreshments to follow. Laurel will be laid to rest at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery in Little Falls at a private gathering.
Memorials are preferred in lieu of flowers to the Tri-County Humane Society.