Margaret M Yoke

Margaret L. Martin Yoke, aged 91, passed away peacefully on December 24th, 2024, in the Memory Care Unit at Greenwood Village South, Greenwood, IN. Margy was born on August 2, 1933, in Shelburn, IN, to Dr. Hugh Ellis Martin and Marian Louise Staley Martin. She graduated as Valedictorian from what is now Franklin Central High School in Acton, IN. Margy then attended Indiana University as a trumpet major (1st chair in the IU Symphony Orchestra), and later as one of only two female students (out of 750 students) in pre-med. Her academic career was interrupted by her marriage to James Henry Yoke, followed by the birth of her daughter, Mary Margaret, and later by the births of her sons Thomas James, Jonathan David, and Benjamin Paul. Her husband of 60+ years, James Yoke, preceded her in death in 2014.
Throughout her mid-life, Margy was recruited by several banks, eventually becoming Vice-President of Key Bank in Indianapolis. She was a leader in Indianapolis banking, teaching herself DOS in the early 1970's and helping to move the banking industry from the paper storage of all customer files into the digital age. In addition to her skill in banking and data management, Margy was the beloved choir director at the Acton United Methodist Church for 37 years. She was known for her conducting skills, her love of classical music, her grace and ease with people, and her zany sense of humor. She, along with her husband Jim, supported the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra with full-season ticket subscriptions for 72 years, an extraordinary record of support that was honored publicly on the ISO stage in February, 2022.
Margy was a Cub Scout den mother for 15 years and a dedicated naturalist. She taught dozens of young Scouts all about wildlife, trees, wildflowers, and stars. She was also a passionate gardener, maintaining a large vegetable garden and multiple flower gardens at the family farm and woods near Acton, IN. In later life, she loved to reminisce about the fact that she had milked the family cow twice per day during the first 12 years of her marriage, along with the feeding and care of the family's chickens and horses. She was known as a generous hostess along with her husband Jim; large parties were given every year on New Year's Eve, sledding parties whenever there was a deep snow, cookouts back in the woods during the summer, and, perhaps most famously, for over 40 years massive Easter egg hunts were provided on the Yoke property. Every year, over 200 children delightedly ran through the beautiful spring wildflowers that covered the yard, looking for hidden eggs, followed by an outdoor pitch-in lunch for all in the courtyard.
Margy is beloved by her family for her amazing generosity, wisdom, wit, adaptability, resilience, hard work, and her unfailing kindness to all. Her four children, eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren are now spread throughout the U.S.
A Memorial Service is planned for March 29, 2025 at Greenwood Village South at 2pm.
Memorial contributions to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in the name of Margaret Yoke are welcome