Mary Beth Yakle
Feb. 8, 1961-May 20, 2021
Mary Beth (Stach) Ya-
kle, age 60, Stilwell, Kan-
sas, formerly of Minot,
ND, died on Thursday
May 20, 2021 after a brief
yet valiant battle with
cancer.
Mary Beth (Stach) Yakle
was born February 8, 1961
in Minot, ND, the young-
est child of Philip Sr. and
Shirley Stach. Though her
father died of an illness
around her second birth-
day, her mom and siblings
made sure to spoil her as
much as possible. She at-
tended elementary school
in Minot, and she loved
her mom’s homemade hot
chocolate so much that
she insisted her mom
make this for her (with six
pieces of toast) for break-
fast every school morning
for six years! She attended
junior high and high
school at Bishop Ryan
High School, graduating
in 1979. Mary Beth was
very smart and received
good grades, however,
school was mostly a social
event for her as she was
gregarious, witty,
fun-loving and indepen-
dent. Most importantly, it
was in this setting that
she made several of her
closest, caring and
life-long friends, Kelly
Buettner Schmidt and
Deena Wald Elm. Her ad-
venturous spirit landed
her good-paying summer
jobs directing traffic on all
male highway crews
throughout her college
years before it was the
norm to hire females for
this role. She received her
2-year degree in Occupa-
tional Therapy at ND
State College of Science in
Wahpeton, ND. True to
her independent spirit
and in the days before
GPS and cell phones, she
drove by herself to
Lawrence, Kansas and
moved herself into the
co-ed dorm at the Univer-
sity of Kansas to become a
Jayhawk and begin her
successful journey to-
wards obtaining her
bachelor’s degree in Occu-
pational Therapy. She
made many friends in-
cluding life-long friends
Janet Slaven and Barb
Berlin who were with her
in her final days. It was
also here that she met a
fellow student named Jeff
Yakle, who became the
absolute love of her life
and her adoring husband.
They were married in
Minot on August 8, 1986
and would have celebrat-
ed their 35th wedding an-
niversary this summer.
Mary Beth often talked to
her siblings about her spe-
cial bond with Jeff and it
would be hard to find a
greater love and adoration
for a spouse than Mary
Beth had for Jeff, or that
Jeff had for her. Jeff’s
career took them to
wonderful and exciting
places to live, such as
Omaha, NE, Albuquerque,
New Mexico and the
Overland Park/Stilwell,
Kansas areas. Mary Beth
continued her career in
Occupational Therapy,
providing services in
differing fields, such as
rehab facilities and school
settings. She went on to
get her master’s degree in
Occupational Therapy,
specializing in the treat-
ment of autism and re-
tired at age 55. Mary Beth
dedicated herself to help-
ing children, which
brought her great joy.
Early in their marriage,
Mary Beth and Jeff were
blessed with three chil-
dren, Derek, Trent, and
Hunter, whom Mary Beth
adored. Mary Beth pre-
ferred not to cook, but
loved to eat Jeff’s cooking,
eating at a restaurant, or
bringing takeout food
home. Mary Beth and Jeff
enjoyed taking in their
children’s events and fol-
lowing them through their
college years. Mary Beth
relished her trips with Jeff
and her sons to partici-
pate in such things as
snorkeling, hiking, and
her favorite: family ski
trips at Copper Mountain,
Colorado. Mary Beth re-
turned to her hometown
often to visit with her
mom, brother, sisters, and
friends. Mary Beth, her
mom and two of her sis-
ters, were fortunate to be
able to go on annual
mother-daughter reunion
trips for many years
resulting in plenty of
shenanigans and happy
memories. Mary Beth was
a lover of rescue animals,
which included her
current beloved and large
dogs, Mya and Kalvin.
She was dedicated to
them even when Mya des-
troyed the cushions off
their new couch, and Kal-
vin chewed new garden
hoses and tore open pack-
ages delivered to the front
door and strew the con-
tents around the yard.
Kalvin returned Mary
Beth’s patience and af-
fection by staying close to
her night and day while
she was ill and kept a
watchful eye on Jeff as he
cared for Mary Beth. She
was always very con-
cerned about others over
herself and thus, kept her
cancer diagnosis and
much of her subsequent
related medical issues
from others. After her di-
agnosis and surgery in De-
cember 2020, Trent was
able to return to the US to
spend 3 months to be
with his mom and assist
his dad in caring for her.
Hunter and his dog, Bus-
ter, were frequent visitors
which Mary Beth looked
forward to and always
brought a smile to her
face. Derek continues to
live at home and assisted
in whatever way he could.
Her two sisters from
North Dakota snuck in a
couple of visits with her
recently. Her family was
a true gift to her.
Mary Beth maintained
her courageous and in-
dependent thinking up to
the end of her life. To
celebrate Mary Beth’s life,
we ask you practice ran-
dom acts of kindness, hug
your family members,
visit or adopt a shelter an-
imal, remember Mary
Beth as you have your
morning coffee, laugh and
smile often, and spend
time with good friends.
Our family would like to
extend special blessings
to Janet Slaven and Kelly
Buettner Schmidt who
spent the last week of
Mary Beth’s life with her
and her family in Kansas,
offering care and lending
their medical expertise; to
Mary Beth and Jeff’s
neighbors and friends for
their continual support
and encouragement; and
the to the staff of Kansas
City Hospice Home.
Mary Beth’s loving
family includes her de-
voted husband, Jeff; sons,
Derek, Stilwell, KS; Trent,
Taipei, Taiwan; and
Hunter, Kansas City, MO;
mother, Shirley Detlef,
Minot, ND; siblings: Phil
(Annette) Stach; Nancy
(Steve) Block; Karen
(Rich) Berg, all of Minot,
ND; mother in-law Lois
McKinney, Olathe KS;
brother and sister in-laws;
Richard Yakle, Chanute,
KS; Joyce Jenkins, Olathe,
KS; Steve Yakle Honolulu,
HI; Mark Yakle, Overland
Park, KS; and Mary
(Richard) Bates, Manhat-
tan, KS; maternal aunt,
Diane Raffay, Altoona, IA;
nieces and nephews: Ali-
cia (Andrew) Crosby, Jake
Stach, Emmie Stach, Ni-
chole (Chad) Oswalt, Josh
(Kaela) Block, Tyler (Sali-
na) Berg, Ryan Bates, and
Tyler (Kiley) Bates;
several cousins, great
nieces and great nephews,
and one great-great niece.
Mary Beth was preced-
ed in death by her father,
Philip Sr.; sister, Susan
Stach; maternal
grandparents, Francis and
Evelyn Zuzulin; and
paternal grandparents,
Balzar and Minnie Stach.
Rosary will be prayed
on Wednesday, May 26,
2021 at 6:00 p.m. with the
visitation to follow from
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at
Queen of the Holy Rosary
Catholic Church-Wea Bu-
cyrus, KS 66013. Fun-
eral Mass will be held
Thursday, May 27, 2021
at 10:00 a.m. at Queen of
the Holy Rosary Catholic
Church.
In lieu of flowers the
family suggests memorial
contributions/donations
to your local animal
shelter.
To leave a special mes-
sage for the family online,
please visit www.dengel
mortuary.com
Arr: Dengel & Son Mor-
tuary Louisburg Chapel 1
Aquatic Dr. Louisburg, KS
66053 913-837-4310