LaVerne Ruth Zehr Yoder

LaVerne Ruth Zehr Yoder, early childhood educator and leader, 84, of Harrisonburg, Va., died Dec. 14, 2022.  She was born Aug. 26, 1938, to Elias M. Zehr and Martha Widrick Zehr in Lowville, N.Y. She married Lee M. Yoder of Belleville, Pa., in 1960.

In 1963 she graduated from Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg with a bachlor’s degree in elementary education.

She taught at Belleville Mennonite Elementary School in Pennsylvania, at A.M. Kulp Elementary School in Hatfield, Pa., Pleasant Valley Elementary School in Harrisonburg and Grottoes Elementary and South River Elementary schools in Grottoes. She created two new American kindergarten schools at The MISR Language School (2000-2001) and the Narmer American College (2001-2008), both in Cairo, Egypt, and she supervised the early childhood grades at The American Schools in Egypt and at The American School of Vietnam (2012-2013) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. She had 35 years of educational work and early childhood leadership. 

She loved to travel, enjoy new experiences and explore historical sites. Together with Lee she traveled to 42 countries and maintained her international contacts with teachers and parents. She loved boating on rivers, identifying wild animals on a safari in Kenya and hiking mountains. She hiked Old Rag Mountain in Virginia, Mount Sinai in Egypt for an early morning excursion to reach the top by the Easter Sunday Sunrise in 2001, and the Great Wall in China in 2013.

Her family was a high priority in the context of her Christian faith, life and service. She planned family travels for many local and international settings.

Survivors include her husband of 62 years, Lee M. Yoder; three children, Lawrence R. (Bonnie Nyce) of Broadway, Lela Faye Yoder of Harrisonburg and Lawson F. (Mary Pimentel) of Harrisonburg; eight siblings, Eileen (Elmer) Lehman, Pauline Myers, Ralph (Betty) Zehr, Milton (Dorothy) Zehr, Margaret (Emanual) Gingerich, Carolyn (Milford) Lyndaker, Joseph (Malinda) Zehr and Donna (Gerry) Keener; two sisters-in-law, Pearl Zehr and Pauline Zehr; and seven grandchildren.

A celebration of life service was held at Park View Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg. Memorial contributions may be made to The Lee M. and LaVerne Zehr Yoder Endowed Scholarship at EMU. 

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