Mary Yonker

Mary Ellen Yonker, 82,

of Stanley went home to

be with her Lord and Sa-

vior on Monday, Dec. 14.

at Mountrail County Med-

ical Center in Stanley,

after suffering a stroke.

Mary Ellen Spenser was

born on January 27, 1938.

She was raised in

Columbus, Ohio by her

mother and stepfather,

Mary Rebecca and Clay-

ton Miller. Clayton was al-

ways the man she referred

to and loved as her father.

When asked about the ten

years between her and her

next oldest sibling, Clay-

ton would only respond,

“there was a war to fight

in between”, a reference

to his military service.

She met the love of her

life, Garrett William

Yonker, Jr., while attend-

ing Moody Bible College

in Chicago, Illinois. They

were married on July 2,

1960, in Columbus, OH.

Their daughter, Mary, was

born on September 29,

1964 in Chicago, Il.

Mary was the tradition-

al minister’s wife, follow-

ing her husband across

the country as he was a

pastor in Chicago, IL: Ra-

pid City, SD; Stanley, ND;

Kenmare, ND; Weiser, ID;

the parish of Lisbon, Rut-

land and Forman, ND be-

fore retiring.

During that time, she

was very active with the

church Sunday School

progams and women’s

ministry groups. She also

worked in various fields,

including earning her in-

surance license while

they were in Idaho. After

retiring they moved back

to Stanley to be with their

family, where Mary joined

her daughter at the Moun-

trail County Promoter.

Mary enjoyed her years

in ministerial service with

her husband, Garry. After

retirement, they contin-

ued to worship together at

First Baptist Church in

Stanley. After Garry

passed in 2019, she con-

tinued to love her time in

the church and with the

women’s circle.

Mary and Garry were

proud Blue Jay fans and

until the past few years

could be found at nearly

every home sporting

event.

More than anything,

Mary would love when

her great-grandchildren

would come to visit. She

could not wait to go and

buy some toy and treats to

share with them. She

loved to spend time just

watching them play and

cherished every hug and

kiss she could get.

Mary was a member of

First Baptist Church in

Stanley and a past

member of Stanley Lions

Club.

Mary is survived by her

daughter Mary (Dale)

Kilen of Stanley; grand-

daughter, Amanda (Zach)

Peterson of Bismarck;

great-grandchildren, Car-

ter, Jozelyn and Abel

Peterson; brother Bill

(Linda) Miller of

Columbus, OH; and

nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in

death by her husband,

Garrett; her parents, Mary

and Clayton Miller; her

mother and father-in-law,

Mary Margaret and Gar-

rett W. Yonker, Sr.; broth-

er, Harold Miller; and

brother-in-law, Art Yonk-

er.

She was a devoted and

loving mother, grand-

mother and great-

grandmother. God bless

her memory.

In lieu of flowers, the

family requests memorials

be given to First Baptist

Church of Stanley or

Camp Bentley in Drake,

ND.

A Private Family Ser-

vice will be held for Mary

on Saturday, December

19, 2020 at the Springan

Stevenson Funeral Home

Chapel in Stanley, North

Dakota. Cremation will

take place with burial at a

later date. Friends may

call on Friday, December

18, 2020 from 10 a.m. to 2

p.m. at the funeral home.

Springan Stevenson Fun-

eral Home of Stanley is

assisting the family.

Friends may sign the

on-line register and give

their condolences at

www.springan

stevenson.com.

Due to Covid 19, we ask

that everyone adheres to

local and state require-

ments for social distanc-

ing.