Diane Schaefer couldn’t think of a better place to pay tribute to her mother, former Youngwood Mayor Joan Derco, than at the Youngwood Borough Complex and park on South Sixth Street.

“Every night, she’d stop on that landing,” Schaefer said, gesturing to a nearby red brick home. “She’d look out just to make sure no one was causing any problems. And she’d be the first to yell out the window or come out in her bath robe to tell them to leave.”

Schaefer was one of several speakers who helped dedicate the area as Joan B. Derco Memorial Park on Friday evening.

“She was born here, went to school here, worshiped here,” said Youngwood Mayor Kris Long. “Her family is here. That’s what community is all about.”

Derco, the first woman to be elected mayor of Youngwood, died at 83 in 2016.

In addition to the park dedication, the short ceremony also dedicated the facade and arch leading into the former Youngwood High School, built on the ground where the park now stands. Derco served as secretary for the Youngwood High School Alumni Association, who worked to save part of the former school building.

“One of the reasons I got onto council was Joan Derco,” said current Youngwood Council President Scott Palmquist. “She told me that everyone in the borough should take a turn on council. Joan was very special and dear to my heart. This is just a great opportunity, to have her name on this park.”

Schaefer said she’d be hard-pressed to think of a volunteer group or community organization her mother had not been part of over the years.

“Mom’s dedication and pride in Youngwood never failed in the 83 years she lived here,” Schaefer said. “She grew up on this street. She raised her family on this street, and she always kept watch over the building and the playground.”

In addition to the high school’s facade and arch, two benches in front of monument were created by salvaging part of the old high school steps.

Palmquist, Schaefer and others said Derco would be proud to see it.

She’s looking over us right now,” Palmquist said with a smile. “She’s looking over this park, and she’ll make sure the kids do what they’re supposed to do here.”

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