Christel Yount, 88, has always had an eye for beauty and taken pleasure in bringing dreams to life. Now an assisted living resident at Morning Pointe of Franklin, Indiana, she enjoys her new lifestyle!
Growing Up in Germany
Christel was born on June 15, 1936, in the small town of Schnackenburg, Germany, which sits on the banks of the Elbe River. Her parents were Julius and Jeanna Domblüth, and her father owned a general store that has been in the family for over 200 years. Christel had three brothers and one sister. While she doesn’t remember much about life during World War II, she remembers how things were when the war ended. She was 9 years old.
The Domblüths were lucky. They were on the side of the river occupied by the American troops, while across the Elbe, the Russians occupied East Germany. “We could only swim half across the river,” she remembers about their relative freedom.
Though their house was taken over by the Americans, Christel remembered that they treated the children well. “They gave us chewing gum and Hawaiian Punch, but we weren’t impressed – we were used to homemade food and plenty to eat from the vegetable garden and Father’s general store!”
Christel remembers going to grade school in her town, but when she reached fifth grade, she had to bicycle 15 miles to get to school until she completed tenth grade.
“My dad wondered what kind of job I would like to learn,” Christel remembered. “I hoped to be a nurse, but there was no doctor and no hospital in town. So, I decided to pursue a job in fashion and attended a fashion school in Hamburg, Germany, a two-year program!
The next step was to get a master’s degree. After a couple of small jobs, Christel worked at the Bremen Theatre as an assistant designer during the day. She took night classes until she completed her master’s degree in dressmaking in 1961.
Coming to America
“In order to improve my English, I decided to live in New York City for one year,” Christel said. She stayed with a family to take care of their children during the day and take classes in English from Hunter College at night.
During that year, one highlight was taking a month-long road trip with friends all the way across the country, tent camping at different sites. There were four adults and three children crammed in a station wagon! It was a wonderful experience.
After Christel returned home, her father passed away of a heart attack, so she went back to New York City to stay for two years with a German friend. During a Christmas party, she met a young man named James Yount. James was originally from Franklin, Indiana. They took several walks together, and James brought along a camera. “I said, ‘Oh, we’re doing some sightseeing? Great!’ ‘No,’ he said, ‘I want to take a picture of you so I can send it to my mother.’ And I thought, ‘Uh, oh. What’s coming?’”
Long story short: She didn’t move back. Instead, she married James in 1967. She and her husband ended up living in New York for 20 years.
Stitching for Shows
“I worked as an assistant designer in the fashion industry and briefly at the Metropolitan Opera,” said Christel. “I loved my work. I would translate the designers’ sketches and make the patterns and cut it and make the fittings, and then the girls would finish it up.”
A costume shop has six to eight sewers to prepare work for, and Christel enjoyed each product they worked on. With many of the shows, especially at the Met, performers would contract for the season, bringing many German, Italian, and other European singers. One of the advantages that Christel had was that she could speak several languages.
In addition to her company work, Christel also did private work for some performers. These included African American mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry and Australian soprano Joan Sutherland. One of the highlights of her career was designing and making a red dress for Grace that she wore to perform at the Kennedy Center.
“I had very little private life because I was so involved,” Christel shared. “My husband said, ‘Can you say no for once?’ I told him, ‘Did I say no to you?’”
San Diego and Coming to Morning Pointe
When James retired, Christel’s friend was living in San Diego and told the Younts they should move there too. They took her suggestion and were soon in sunny Southern California for 30 years. Christel continued her career there with the San Diego Theater, again making costumes for performances.
James passed away in 2010, and Christel officially retired the following year. She lived for seven years after that with a friend who struggled with Parkinson’s disease, and when she passed, Christel decided to move to Indiana to be near James’ family members. The couple didn’t have any children, but his family was her family.
Because Christel had heart problems, James’ cousin’s sons helped her find an assisted living community where she could be cared for. She moved in to her apartment at Morning Pointe of Franklin in 2022.
“It’s nice and quiet here,” Christel said. “I like to be here because I feel more secure, especially after COVID. I don’t want to be alone.”
Not long after she arrived at Morning Pointe, Christel fell out of bed while she was sleeping and woke up feeling bruised. Associates saw the bruise on her face and sent her to the hospital, even though Christel tried to brush the incident off. Because of that, she found out she had a broken rib and bleeding spleen, and she was able to get the care she needed and recover. The intervention saved her life.
Beyond the care, Christel enjoys the activities, especially bingo, exercise classes, and puzzles. “When I start a puzzle, I can’t stop. Once I worked one until 3:00 in the morning. I do them in the hallway, and then I leave the finished one on the table for a few days so everybody can look at it.”
Christel also enjoys helping her fellow residents, whether just by checking on them or even helping them with their dog.
Thank you, Christel, for your caring heart and for being part of our Morning Pointe Family.
