Ervin Kore Yoder

Ervin Kore Yoder, 73, of Bemidji, went to be with his Savior on October 27, 2025 at his home from complications of congestive heart failure, surrounded by his loving family
.
A funeral service will be held at 1:00 PM Thursday, October 30th at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Bemidji and burial immediately following at Frohn East Side Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, October 29 from 5-8 PM at the Cease Family Funeral Home in Bemidji and an hour before the service at the church on Thursday.
Ervin was born to Noah A. and Amanda (Kurtz) Yoder on March 23, 1952 in Reedsville, PA. Ervin's early years were spent in McVeytown, PA. At age 11, his family moved to Lewisburg, PA, where he grew up working on the family dairy farm. His favorite job on the farm was operating field equipment.
At 20, Ervin moved to Sarasota, Florida, and served two years as an orderly at Sunnyside Rest Home through a voluntary service program. It was there he met Theda Hochstetler. They were married on October 19, 1974 and recently celebrated 51 years of marriage. Northern Minnesota is where they put down their roots. Ervin was the owner of Yoder Concrete & Masonry for 14 years. In 1983, due to health issues, he became an over the road truck driver during winter months. In 1988 he started driving truck full time. In 1997 he became the sole owner-operator of Yoder Trucking. In his lifetime he put on over 3 million miles. He thoroughly enjoyed seeing the country out on the road and could always give you the best route to take almost anywhere in the United States. All non-trucking road trips with Ervin were filled with many stories from his experiences he had in different areas of the country. Ervin overcame many life-altering health issues, including a brain tumor surgery in 1999. In April of 2016 his life was permanently changed when an accident caused a spinal cord injury, leaving him an incomplete quadriplegic. In spite of his disability and complete dependence on others, Ervin still lived a very fulfilling life. His perseverance and good attitude regarding his disability was a continual encouragement to those around him. His loving wife cared for him for the last 9 1/2 years, allowing him to remain living at their home, which gave him great joy. He enjoyed road trips, meeting his friends for coffee, and fellowshiping with their Calvary Chapel Bemidji church family and No Fences Cowboy Church in Alabama. Ervin had many friends country wide. He always had a story or two to tell and had nicknames for most of his friends. The last three winters of his life, he and Theda spent their winters in Northern Alabama in a tiny house next door to their son and his family, which he thoroughly enjoyed. The family would like to thank all of the caregivers and therapists in Ervin's life the past 9 years.
Ervin will be sorely missed by his family who survive: His wife, Theda, son, Steve (Lorri) Yoder and their children, Kyle, Ella and Zack, of Bemidji, daughter, Carmita (Ervin) Bratlien and their daughter, Elsa, of Laporte, son, Glendon (Laura) Yoder and their children, Reagan, Libby, and Noah, of
Hartselle, AL, sisters Alta (Sam) Mullet of Sugarcreek, OH, Martha (Dave) Troyer of Mifflinburg, PA, brother Kore (Miriam) Yoder of Lewisburg, PA, and his mother-in-law, Sally Hochstetler, of Blackduck.
He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Ernest Yoder, two infant sisters, a granddaughter, Anna Bratlien, and father-in-law, Lee Hochstetler. Condolences may be left at ceasefuneralhome.com.