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Col (Ret) Donald A. Yoder
passed away peacefully on March 2, 2006 at the age of 79. He died of respiratory failure at Northwest Medical Center Oro Valley.
Don was born on November 12, 1926 in Junction City, Kansas to the late Frank and Bess Yoder. He graduated from Wichita East High School in 1944. After graduation, he enlisted in the United States Army. He was honorably discharged in 1946 with the rank of Corporal.
In 1947, Don enrolled in Wichita University and the Army ROTC program. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi social fraternity, in which he remained active for many years.
Don married Alice Jean Lamkin on September 3, 1950 in Wichita, Kansas. They have three children, Cynthia (Stevens), Steven, and Jill (Avey); and four grandchildren, Sara (Stevens Wright), Tyler, Mitchell, and Perri Avey.
In 1951, Don graduated from Wichita University as a Second Lieutenant with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He served in the Korean Conflict and in Vietnam. Don then attended the National War College in Washington, DC, where he also earned a Masters of Science in Management and Natural Resources from George Washington University. In 1977, Don was named Post Commander at Fort Huachuca. He held that post until his retirement to Tucson in 1980.
After retirement, Don and Jean traveled the world by themselves and with their family, from the Panama Canal to London and from Australia to Hong Kong.
Don is survived by his wife Jean, his three children, and four grandchildren.
A graveside service with full military honors will be held Thursday, March 30th at 11 a.m. at the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 1300 Buffalo Soldier Trail, Sierra Vista, Arizona. A reception at the Pueblo del Sol Country Club will immediately follow. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Huachuca Museum Society, P.O. Box 12766, Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, 85670-2766 |
[courtesy of Bill Bates]
Grave marker for Donald
A. Yoder in Section 2 Row 1, Site 1, Southern Arizona Veterans
Memorial Cemetery, Sierra Vista (Cochise county), Arizona.
1st Lt Yoder was in the 508th RCT during
the Operation
Gyroscope deployment to Camp Chickamauga, Beppu, Japan.
On 21 May 1955, his spouse
Dorothy A [1928-2013] and 2 children were listed on Travel Authorization
#7 for transport from Fort Campbell, KY to Camp Chickamauga, Japan. |
