Mary Beth Yakle

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