Ena Mae Barnes

Ena Mae Yoder was born on November 6, 1928 to Glenn and Allee Yoder in Riverside, Wash. She grew up on the family owned Yoder Dairy, and was the fifth of six children. All of the children helped in running the family business during their growing up years.

Ena attended school in Riverside, Washington, except for the one year the family lived in Mesa, Arizona for her mother's health. She graduated from high school in Riverside in 1946. She then attended two years of college at Cascade Bible College in Portland, Ore.

Ena was a caregiver nearly her entire life. Her mother suffered from rheumatoid arthritis that left her an invalid. Ena was the one who cared for her mother until she passed away when Ena was 16 years old. Then she announced that she would take care of her father until he was married again. She took on the cooking for the family and hired hands of the dairy. Her father remarried in 1948, "clearing" the way for Ena to marry the following year.

In 1949, she was married to Harvey Kocher, and they made their home near Okanogan, Wash. Two sons, Gary in 1950, and Ron in 1952, were added to the family. As it ended up, she raised them as a single parent, caring for her boys while working full-time to support the young family as a teller with the Seattle First National Bank branch in Okanogan, Wash.

In 1961, Ena married for the second time, to George St. Peter, and she and the boys moved to Wenatchee, Wash. There, she continued her banking career with SeaFirst Bank until, in 1962, another child was added to the family with the arrival of her daughter, Barbara Ann.

A year later, she found herself a single parent again, but Ena saw this as an opportunity to fulfill a dream. She moved across the mountains to the Seattle area so her children could have an education in a Christian school. When that school year began, Ena and kids were living in Mountlake Terrace, Wash., and the two boys were enrolled in Kings Garden Schools in north Seattle.

She went back to work with the Bank again and single-handedly raised her three children, juggling the finances to pay the tuition for private school for each of them. All three would graduate from King's High School.

With the two boys now grown and out of the house, Ena was only caring for one child. Then, a widower from the church she attended began taking an interest in her. She married for the third time to Orville Barnes in 1975. Ena and Barb joined Orville to form a new family.

A year after they were married, Orville had a stroke. He was able to recover enough to return to work, but had a second stroke that left him unable to work and in need of care. After 30 years of service, Ena took early retirement from the SeaFirst Bank to be the caregiver for her husband.

Barb grew up, married, and had two children. She, too, had to raise her kids by herself. Orville and Ena remodeled their three story home in Seattle, putting an apartment in the basement where they lived, and Barb and her kids moved into the main floor and upper story. Ena cared for her husband, but also helped Barb care for her two kids as well.

In 1990, Orville and Ena sold their home in Seattle and moved to the Warm Beach Senior Community. His physical health continued to decline, and a little over a year after they moved to Warm Beach, Orville passed away.

The other defining things in Ena's life were her faith in the Lord and her love of music. She nurtured her children in the faith, taking them to church each week, teaching a children's Sunday school class, and sing in the choir of every church she attended, if they had one. She also taught her children how to sing. Growing up, Ron and Gary sang with their mother for church services, at other churches for special occasions, and at the annual camp meeting in Conconully, Washington.

Ena was a resident of the Warm Beach Senior Community for 23 years. She served as a volunteer, answering the phone in the Nurses' station, helping lead a support group for caregivers, taking in her grandchildren for visits, and developing wonderful friendships with everyone around her. She was also a member of the Warm Beach Free Methodist Church, singing in the choir, and with her banking background, helping to count the offerings each week.

Ena passed away on September 6, 2013. She is preceded in death by her parents Glenn and Allee Yoder, stepmother, Ethel Yoder, her brothers Carl and Von, sisters Grace Roberts and Irma Carpenter. She is survived by her brother Joe Yoder, Sister-in-law Margie Yoder, her three children, Gary, Ron (Brownie), and Barb Eldredge, grandchildren Allison Kocher, Lindsey (Brendan) Marquis, Thomas Kocher, Kara Eldredge, Daniel Eldredge, and Ashley Shaw, plus six great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

Memorial gifts may be made in Ena's name to the Warm Beach Senior Community, 20420 Marine Dr, Stanwood, WA 98292, or to World Gospel Mission, PO Box 948 Marion, IN 46952.