Amy Yecoshenko

Minot

At the age of one hundred and six months, Amy Yecoshenko passed away peacefully on January 17, 2023. A celebration of her life will be held on June 16, 2023, at 11 a.m. at Vincent United Methodist Church, Minot, North Dakota.

Amy (Stromme) Yecoshenko was born July 2, 1922, to Pete and Alice (Stolarenko) Stromme near Kief, North Dakota. She finished the eighth grade in a rural school and graduated from Kief High School in 1939. She enjoyed every aspect of school and encouraged many young friends to keep attending school. Amy continued her education at Minot State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary education.

She grew up on a farm near Kief with four brothers, so she learned to play baseball, cops and robbers and ride a horse. Amy loved horses. When she was 87 years old she was excited once more to ride horseback at a Wesley Grade trail ride on the farm where she grew up. Amy learned how to use a .22 rifle and all her life made use of her Remington on varmints that visited the farm. She was a good marksman. She learned early how to work hard. In her lifetime she herded cattle, sheep and turkeys, did housework at home, washed clothes on a scrub board, and could handle a team of horses hitched to a wagonload of grain.

Because there was no electricity in the countryside, Amy and her brothers invented their own games and recreation. The highlight of the summers were the “Free shows” held in Kief each Saturday night. During her high school years, she was privileged to stay at her grandparents’ home in town (Kief) with the luxury of electricity. They were kind to her, and she appreciated them and loved them dearly.

Amy’s first year of teaching was at a rural school near Harvey. She then taught two years of upper grades in Wellsburg. In 1944 she went to teach the upper grades in Butte, North Dakota. It was in Butte where a friend arranged a blind date with Walter Yecoshenko. This culminated into a romance and an elopement on June 7, 1946, when the school term ended. Walter and Amy bought a farm near Butte, in Dogden Township of McLean County three miles south of Butte, in 1949 where they worked to make improvements. It was on this farm where they raised their two daughters. Amy was happy with her farm life working side by side with Walter. They were a good team.

In 1959 she accepted a fifth-grade teaching position in Drake, ND where she taught for 36 years and retired from a successful, happy career. She enjoyed ongoing friendships with students as long as she lived. No matter how old her former students got she still saw them as her kids.

Then came the well-earned more relaxed years. Walter sold his cattle so he and Amy could travel all over the United States and Canada. They rode Amtrak and airplanes. Many miles were made in the Buick cruising to weddings, anniversaries, and just “roaming”. They liked back roads and small restaurants with “Home-cooked” meals. Thanksgiving and Christmas wouldn’t have been complete without Grandma’s turkey and dressing. She loved to make pies and made sure there was enough for the grand kids to take some home. Her Juneberry pie became a top seller at a Republican fundraiser for years.

Amy had a variety of hobbies and was never idle. She made quilts for family and special friends and so many babies. She liked to garden, and she and Walter planted evergreens to enhance the farmstead. Reading, doing crossword puzzles, collecting poems and old sayings kept her occupied. Her life was quiet in a home filled with mementos, pictures of birds and butterflies and collectibles. Many of these treasures were gifts from students and special people. Numerous pictures of the grandkids and eventually great grand babies filled her home. The home was a “neat museum” filled with pleasant memories of the life she and Walter lived.

When Walter passed away on April 22, 2005, living alone was a new way of life. She coped because she was not afraid, was self-sufficient, inventive, efficient and persistent. Her determination kept her in motion. She hoped she did her best in all she did in her busy life.

She was proud of their daughters and sons-in-law and their way of life. The grand kids were dear and special. Amy wrote letters to them on colored paper, sent jokes, newspaper clippings of advice and silly cartoons. The added blessings to her life were the great grandbabies. Concerts, plays, birthdays, holidays, any special event or just because, she was there to celebrate and support (and give advice).

She was grateful for so many special people who helped her celebrate life. “Now,” she said, “I’m done, Walter is waiting for me beyond the Moon.”

Amy is survived by her daughters Colleen Hall of Minot and Kathy (Bob) Peterson of Bismarck; grandchildren: Brandon (Sean) Hoffmann of Mendota Heights, MN, Derek Hall of Bismarck, Brynn (Mark Rostad) Peterson of West Fargo; grandchildren: Asher and Josephine Hoffmann and Ingrid Peterson; brother: Everett (Mavis) Stromme of Fargo and sister-in-law Ruth Stromme of Bismarck; also special people: Tanner Verbitsky of Butte, ND, and Louise and Daryl Verbitsky of Butte, ND.

She was preceded in death by her parents: Peter and Alice Stromme: husband Walter Yecoshenko, brothers: Carl, Earl, and Ralph Stromme and son-in-law Ellis Hall.

Celebration of Life Service: Friday, June 16, 2023, at 11 a.m. in Vincent United Methodist Church, Minot. A livestream of the service is available by accessing the link in her website obituary.

Interment: Rosehill Memorial Park, Minot.

Public Viewing and Visitation were held on January 25, 2023, in Thomas Family Funeral Home, Minot.

Memorials are preferred to Vincent United Methodist Church or to the donor’s choice.

Memories and condolences may be shared at www.thomasfamilyfuneralhome.com.

Published by The Minot Daily News, June 8, 2023.