Evelyn Marie Yoder

Evelyn Marie Yoder (a.k.a. Mom, Grandma, or Grammall) entered eternal life on September 8, 2021. Her spirit is carried on by her husband of 48 years, two daughters, five grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, one surviving sibling, and an extended family of former framing customers and neighbors. We were all grateful for the time spent and the memories we shared with her during her 87 years on earth, among them: Hiding and finding Easter eggs year round, playing games like Payday, Life, Rummy, and Carrom, painting in watercolors while watching Bob Ross paint his “happy little trees”, trying on old clothes and playing “Orphanage” for hours then playing store for even longer, talking about Jesus, Creamsicle ice cream, playing long chess games by moving one piece every two weeks, headache inducing magic markers, Polar Bars in the freezer and Starburst in her purse, her hair rollers with plastic pink pins that when rolled tightly on her head, made small children cry, her love/hate relationship with Sudoku, receiving homemade cards from her in the mail with a poem, bird feathers, comic strips, or words of wisdom from a newspaper article, her parrot Zazu who loved some, but not others, phone calls that she didn’t want to end because she had one more thing to tell you, jellybeans in a jar, her love and appreciation of beautiful clouds (so much so, she would pull over on a busy highway to take a photograph), catching mice in her house and then carefully placing them in a jar so she could let them out at someone else’s house, that she knew every squirrel in her yard, allowing her grandchildren to eat cookie dough ice cream and spit the dough balls into a bowl for later, Frederick, her pet ferret who stayed perfectly preserved in her freezer after his death, her tendency to feed candy and ice cream to children and then lecture their parents about the importance of eating vegetables, and deep conversations about just about anything under the sun. She cherished her Bible and read through it every year without fail. She adored painting, fine art, music, poetry, good books, learning new things, politics, and laughing with children. She faithfully attended church on Sunday. Even when her health failed her, she tuned in online. She gave her life to God, to troubled pregnant women by taking them in until they could get on their feet, provided Christmas to a young woman in her neighborhood who had hit hard times, and numerous acts of kindness that she never revealed to anyone.

Although her mind stayed sharp until she left this world, her body failed her and did not allow her to do many of the things she loved. She often described herself as, “a curious wisp of ancient womanhood, so thin and faded that she looked as though she had fallen out from between the pages of a very old book.” Though she suffered physically, she found comfort and peace in the promises of God’s word. One of her favorite verses was Isaiah 26:19, “But those who die in the Lord will live; their bodies will rise again! Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy! For your life-giving light will fall like dew on your people in the place of the dead!”

All who loved her take solace in knowing that she is not dead but living out eternity in a strong and healthy body. She is tending beautiful gardens, painting magnificent masterpieces, playing rummy for hours, and singing for joy! She is survived by her husband, Terry Yoder, her daughter, Sharon Eveler and husband Tim; daughter, Rebecca Hodson and husband Jimmy. Grandchildren, Ben Eveler; Melody Olver and husband Joshua; Laurel Zimmerman and husband Casey; Sydney McBride and husband Stephen; Chloe Moore, and husband Frederick. Great-grandchildren, Caleb Olver, Layne Olver, Abigail Olver, Jackson Zimmerman, Penelope Zimmerman, Daniel Zimmerman, Molly Zimmerman, and Amelia McBride, and brother, Edward Bull. She is reunited with her two sons, Gary and Johnny; two granddaughters, Odessa and Willow; great-grandson, Oliver and seven siblings.

She will be laid to rest on September 25, 2021, at a private graveside service.