Mary Helen Yoder Wade was born May 17, 1922, in Smithville, Ohio. She was the daughter of Emmett Yoder and Kathrine Meyer Yoder. Prior to her marriage to Paul Esrom Wade on April 30, 1944, she attended Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana. For two years, she taught all eight grades at a one-room school in Farmerstown, Ohio.
An active member of Science Ridge Mennonite Church, she served as a Bible School teacher, Sunday School teacher, and Church Librarian. She was a member of the church’s building committee when the congregation built their new facility, dedicated in 1967. She was a quilter and a long-serving secretary for the church group, Mennonite Women.
She was a 36-year volunteer recovery aide for the American Red Cross Bloodmobile Drives in the Sterling/Rock Falls area.
Family history fascinated Mary Helen. She searched libraries, grave sites in multiple states, and traveled to Switzerland and France as she organized the stories and pictures of both her Yoder family and the Wade family genealogical past. Much of her work was done prior to the aid of today’s DNA and computer searches.
Mary Helen was married to a dairy farmer, helping with many farm-related chores. She was an avid gardener, spending many hours growing and preserving produce from her vegetable gardens and tending to her flower gardens.
She and her husband of 62 years raised four children: Carl (Diana) of Sterling, Mary Kay (Jim) Yoder of Cashiers, NC, Dean (Diane) of Rock Falls, and Don (Melanie) of Shipshewana, IN. She is survived by her four children, 11 grandchildren, and 21 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul, in 2006, and her brothers: Andrew and Russell.
Visitation will be held on Friday, December 1, 2023, from 5-7 PM at Science Ridge Mennonite Church in Sterling. The funeral will follow on Saturday at 10:30 AM at the church. Burial will conclude at Science Ridge Mennonite Cemetery.
Memorials may be made in her memory to the Lincoln Land Chapter of the American Red Cross or Science Ridge Mennonite Church.
