A short while after the 1974 freak mishap that took the lives of their two daughters, Judy and Jerry York, of Hubbard, were asked by a Meadville nurse to start an organization for parents of deceased children.

The couple hasn't looked back since.

Mrs. York and her husband have headed the Mercer County Chapter of The Compassionate Friends for about four years. They led the Meadville chapter before taking over the Mercer County chapter.