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John Yoder Obituary
John Franklin Yoder, 84, of Taylor Lake Village, Texas, passed away December 5, 2016. He was born in New York City, NY on May 30, 1932 to Julius Herman Yoder and Barbara Jane Rudisill Yoder. He attended public schools in Forest Hills, Queens, including Forest Hills High School.
He was married to Gayle Diane Iorii Yoder (6/17/1937-1/7/2016) for 58 years until she passed early in 2016. John had a distinguished career in aeronautical and aerospace engineering spanning 35 years, and worked for Martin Aviation, Avco, Lockheed, TRW, and Rockwell International. He earned his Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering and Masters of Aeronautical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
He was a member of the National Management Association (NMA), and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
An avid photographer and lover of classical music and jazz, he had a profound appreciation for contemporary arts and architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright was among his favorite designers. John designed and built theater loudspeakers and occasionally created contemporary oil paintings suggestive of aerospace themes. His favorite charity was the Salvation Army.
He was preceded in death by his mother Barbara Jane Rudisill, his father Julius Herman Yoder, his son Christopher Andrew Yoder (3/20/1958-4/3/1983), and his wife Gayle (6/17/1937-1/7/2016).
He is survived by his son, Michael Stephen Yoder (1959-) of Conway, Arkansas, and his brother, Julius Yoder (1930-) of Marion, Iowa.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Forest Park East Funeral Home on January 7, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. with a reception to follow.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for John Yoder
1 Entry
Susan and Bryan O'Connor
January 7, 2017
Michael,
Due to complications with Susan's ankle injury, we regret that we cannot be there with you and Juaquina in this sad time, but we want to pass on our heartfelt condolences with this note. At the same time, we feel privileged to share a few of our treasured memories of your wonderful father.
As you know, John and Gail were our landlords when we first arrived in the area in 1980. Then when we bought our house, we were delighted to find John and Gail were close neighbors. Thus began a special and lasting relationship between O'Connors and Yoders
We will never forget John as the loyal and supportive political staffer for Gail and Susan's Concerned Citizens of Taylor Lake Village. His sense of humor often found a welcome audience among the harried politicos, and he cheerfully assembled and located their election signs throughout the community.
For friends and neighbors, the Yoder's door was always open. When we were there, John loved to entertain us with his professional quality home theater. He enjoyed talking to Bryan about aviation, especially his favorite P-38 Lightning. John and Susan shared a love of photography, and she learned a great deal from his expertise.
John was always so generous to us with his time, his tools, his books, and his problem solving. He and Gail happily provided our son Tom with a place to stay when he returned to Houston after college, after we had moved from Texas.
As Susan's boss at SAIL's Math Modeling Group, John was a fair, creative, supportive leader with his terrific coaching, listening, and problem solving skillsthe best boss ever!
And John and Gail's generosity was always an inspiration to us. In addition to friends and family, they reached out to Youth Village and mentored children in need.
In summary, we remember John as being ever loving and supportive of his wonderful family, friends, and co-workers. He always had time for people. In his spare time, John pursued his interests in electronic advances and current events in aerospace, but always had time for the concerns of others.
Michael, we will miss your wonderful father!
Sending you and Juaquina our thoughts and love,
Susan and Bryan
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Forest Park East Funeral Home & Cemetery21620 Gulf Fwy, Webster, TX 77598
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