Pee Dee businessman, humanitarian dies at 81

One of the Pee Dee’s most successful businessmen, who also was well known as a humanitarian and civic leader, has passed away.

Christopher James Yahnis, 81, co-founder of Y&B Distributing, died Wednesday, leaving a legacy of achievement and service to the Florence community.

Fred Samra, retired owner of Samra Shoes, and Fred DuBard of Budweiser Inc. both said Yahnis always had an interest in the community.

“I’ve know Chris for many years,” Samra said. “He was always interested in what was best for the Florence community.

“He was especially interested in downtown development,” he said. “He knew that a strong downtown was vital to a community.”

DuBard added that he had known Yahnis since 1965 and that he was a very successful businessman.

In 2004, Sens. Hugh Leatherman, Phil Leventis and John Knotts Jr. sponsored a bill that named a section of U.S. 76/301 North in Yahnis’ honor. The Christopher James Yahnis Highway begins at the intersection of S.C. 327 and ends at Old Marion Highway.

Leatherman said Yahnis’ passing is “one of the greatest losses that our community has suffered in a long, long time.

“He was just a wonderful person, a great family man,” Leatherman said. “He really cared about his community. He always talked about giving back to his community because it had been so good to him.

“He was a very close, dear friend of mine and I will really miss him,” he said. “He was a very compassionate person. He cared about people, he loved people and people loved him.”

Leatherman said Yahnis never wanted any recognition for what he did for the community and that his entire family was community-oriented.

Yahnis established the Chris J. Yahnis Scholarship Fund with the Francis Marion University Foundation in 2000. He also donated $100,000 to FMU’s capital campaign in 2003 to be used for the BB&T/Amelia Wallace Faculty/Alumni House.

Francis Marion University President Dr. Fred Carter said Yahnis loved the university and the students.

“He contributed generously to many of our programs, most notably he created a substantial scholarship,” Carter said. “His only request was that the money would go to those students who needed it the most. And that gesture was so characteristic of Chris Yahnis.

“A large part of his life was devoted to providing support to those who needed it the most,” he said. “He continued to support that scholarship fund as well as others out here. We were very proud when the decision was made in 2004 to name the road out here in front of the university after him because he had done so much for the university and our students.”

Yahnis received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts in 1950. He later joined the U.S. Army, where he served as a special agent counter intelligence from 1951 to 1953.

After the military, Yahnis served as director of security education at the E.I. DuPont Savannah River Plant for three years.

He then became regional sales manager of National Brewing Co. and later executive vice president/general sales manager of Schafer Distributing Co.

In 1966, Yahnis and the late Dr. Ira Barth founded Y&B Distributing.

Yahnis later purchased the company and it became the Chris J. Yahnis Corp. He also purchased the Stevens Corp. of Myrtle Beach in 1986, which became Chris J. Yahnis Coastal Corp. Both companies employ more than 100 people.

In December 1994, Yahnis turned both operations over to his sons, Byron and Jimmy, but stayed on as an officer.

Yahnis also founded Home Health Inc. in 1992 to serve Florence, Darlington, Dillon, Lee and Marion counties. A home health facility was added in 1993 in York County.

Both agencies grew to more than 300 employees. The Pee Dee office was sold to McLeod Regional Medical Center in 1995 and, Yahnis sold the remainder in 1998.

Yahnis was a member of the Greek Orthodox Church since 1954 and served as president of the Greek Orthodox Church Parish Council.

Yahnis was honored by former Gov. Jim Hodges with the Order of the Palmetto in 2003.

The Order of the Palmetto is the state’s highest civilian honor and is awarded for “extraordinary lifetime achievement and service to the state and nation.”

Yahnis was a member of several groups, including the S.C. Mental Health Board and the Florence County United Way. He also served as president of the S.C. Beer Association.

— Staff writer Dwight Dana contributed to this report.