Yvonne was born to Roy Lee Shoemaker and Emily Ann Costello on March 20, 1941, in Henderson, Texas. Shortly after, she and her family moved to Houston, Texas, where she graduated from Sam Houston High School in 1959. Upon graduation, she was hired by E.F. Hutton & Co. at the downtown Houston office, this was one of her favorite jobs and a source of many lifelong friendships. Yvonne married her childhood sweetheart, Derwood “Buddy” Dailey. Yvonne and Buddy moved to San Diego, California, where they had their two children, Todd and Jill, before moving back to Houston shortly thereafter. As a young mother growing in her faith, Yvonne began attending Hidden Valley Baptist church in north Houston desiring to raise her children in the Christian faith. She joined Spring Baptist Church a few years later where she would spend decades growing in her relationship with Jesus and knowledge of God’s word. She attended Sunday school and Bible study weekly, received evangelism training, and built friendships that lasted a lifetime. These formidable years are when the Holy Spirit equipped Yvonne with an unbending desire for God’s word and a life changing relationship with Him that would impact many. One of the highlights of her life was traveling to Israel when she was 40 years old with a group from Green Valley Baptist Church; her beloved sister-in-law, Patsy Ruth Dailey Clopton; her mother-in-law, Merline Brumley Dailey; and dear friend and neighbor, Beau Owen.
Yvonne was a gifted, hardworking florist and business owner for many years. She was also a licensed realtor in the state of Texas for Keller Williams and enjoyed selling real estate in the North Houston and Conroe areas.
Yvonne was patriotic to the core and a member of the Republican Party. Her love for her country kept her busy as she often wrote and called leaders at all of levels of government regarding issues she believed were important to maintaining freedom and the core values of the United States of America. She was a lover of sports, a love she developed cheering on her favorite baseball teams, the Houston Astros and Round Rock Express, as well as all of her grandchildren.
Yvonne’s 80 years on this earth were a blessing to countless lives, and she leaves behind a rich spiritual legacy and inheritance to those who knew her. As a friend, mother and “Grandmom,” she unconditionally and relentlessly loved her family and friends. She kept detailed, seemingly innumerable lists of people that she prayed for daily. A stranger’s mundane encounter with Yvonne at the grocery store meant being asked intentional questions about their life story, hearing the Gospel, and winding up on one of her lists to be prayed for over the course of the year (if not longer). Her greatest passion was encouraging others and cheering on to victory those she loved. She counted God’s Word as her ultimate authority, weapon, comfort, and her deepest treasure. Above all, her greatest love was Jesus Himself, who she couldn’t resist sharing with all who knew her. Yvonne lived a full, fun, amazing life built on Christ’s saving work for her on the cross.
Yvonne is survived by her children and children-in-law: Todd Ray Dailey and Cindy Voudouris Dailey, and Jill Dailey Markham and Jeffrey Scott Markham; her grandchildren: Dailey Charles Markham, Jackson Scott Markham, Sanders Yvonne Markham, Jake Austin Dailey, and Karlee Kate Dailey; as well as her sisters and sisters-in-law: Amelia Shoemaker Stark, Ava Shoemaker Courtney, Susie Steele Shoemaker and Carla Berg Shoemaker.
She is preceded in death by her brothers Elton LeRoy Shoemaker and Dennis Wayne Shoemaker, as well as her grandson, Gates Ray Dailey.
