Marilyn (Rufenacht) Yoder Obituary
Marilyn (Rufenacht) Yoder, age 88 years, of Archbold, passed away, Friday evening, November 12, 2021, at Fairlawn Haven in Archbold. She was born September 2, 1933 to Reo and Erma (Beck) Rufenacht in Ridgeville Township. After graduation she spent a year at Goshen College.
Marilyn and Luke were married in August of 1953, and lived in Cleveland during Luke's 1-W assignment at Marymount Hospital. She was a member of West Clinton Mennonite Church where she served in Bible School, Sunday School, youth groups, janitor, first woman on the Leadership Team and involved in Ohio Conference. She was a School Bus Driver for 27 years for Archbold Area Schools. She was one of the founders of Care & Share and Ten Thousand Villages in Archbold. In 2002 she was voted Archbold Citizen of the Year for her life of service. Another passion was educating herself and others about Parkinson's Disease, as she and Luke both lived with the disease in their later years.
In 2002 Luke and Marilyn moved from their family home in the country to an apartment at Fairlawn Retirement Center in Archbold, where Marilyn enjoyed playing games, exercising, and visiting with friends.
Marilyn is survived by her sons and daughters-in-laws; Denton & Jan of Archbold, Tim & Sarah of Del Norte, Colorado, Ruben & Eileen, Ramon & Lori, both of Archbold and Richard Campos of Pettisville. The nine grandchildren- Beth Yoder, Rachel Yoder, Miriam Yoder, Luke D. Yoder, Jennifer (Jay) Yoder, Emily Yoder-Horst, Kelli Yoder, McKenzie Rohleder, and Brandon Yoder- All grew up in Archbold, enjoying the loving nurture of Grandma Marilyn. Twelve great-grandchildren are also part of the growing family- Dana, Brad, Eric, Riley, Felix, Timothy M., Kaden, Alina, Sadie, Anna, Molly and Waylynn. A sister, Marlene and Stan Smucker of North Newton, Kansas and a brother Dwayne and Bonnie Rufenacht of La Junta, Colorado. In-Laws include Eunice and Jim Brenneman, Denver, CO, Carolyn Yoder, Stevensville, MI, Ruby Campos, Oak Park, IL and Phil and Judy Yoder, Iowa City, Iowa. Many other people are "adopted" family members in the community and around the world.
Preceding Marilyn in death were her parents, her husband and In-Laws Leah Roberts, D. Paul Yoder, M. Joe Yoder.
Marilyn chose to have her body donated to University of Toledo Medical College and later her cremains will be interred at the Pettisville Cemetery.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, November 21, at 2 PM at West Clinton Mennonite Church with Rev. Julie Elmore officiating. Masks are required. Friends may call one hour prior to the service. Short Funeral Home in Archbold has been entrusted with the arrangements. The family suggests that memorials be given to Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) or Parkinson's Foundation. http://www.shortfuneralhome.com
Service may be seen on the following
