Evelyn Louise Yanders passed away on Friday, December 12, 2025, at the age of 98. She was born on August 8, 1927, in Falls City, Nebraska, to David Leo Gatz and Lena M. (née Trefzer) Gatz, on the family farm her great-grandfather purchased in the 1870s. She was proud of being a farm girl and of her father, a successful farmer whom banks trusted enough to extend loans to during the Depression.
Evelyn graduated from Falls City High School in 1944 and received a BA in education in 1948 from Peru State College in Peru, Nebraska. While there, she became Homecoming Queen and met her future husband.
She married Armon Yanders in Falls City, Nebraska, on August 1, 1948. They moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where she taught second grade until 1953. The couple then lived in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Evanston, Illinois, before her husband entered the U.S. Navy in 1954. During his naval service, the family moved several times, including to San Francisco, California, where their first son, Mark, was born in 1956. After leaving the Navy, they lived in Lombard, Illinois, where their second son, Kent, was born in 1958. They later lived in Lansing, Michigan, for ten years and in 1969 settled in Columbia, Missouri.
Mrs. Yanders was a teacher’s aide at Grant School for many years. She was active in the University of Missouri Fortnightly Club and served as its president in 1977. She and her husband were members of the Columbia Gourmet Group for over forty years.
In the mid-1970s, Evelyn was among the first people to benefit from a new type of mammogram, which she credited with saving her life. For more than a decade after her mastectomy, she volunteered with Reach for Recovery, providing kits and comfort to cancer patients in the hospital. She also worked with the American Cancer Society to raise awareness and funds to fight cancer.
Evelyn kept up with local and national news. In addition to MSNBC, she subscribed to the Tribune, the Columbia Missourian, and her beloved Falls City Journal. A humanitarian, she cared deeply about women’s rights and the rights of all people. She never missed a chance to vote and had hoped to see a woman president in her lifetime.
Mrs. Yanders loved musical and theatrical events at the University of Missouri and enjoyed attending performances at the Lyceum Theater with friends. She especially looked forward to visits from her children and grandchildren and took great pride in their activities and accomplishments.
Mrs. Yanders was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; a brother; a sister; and a son.
She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Kent and Elizabeth Yanders of Blue Springs, Missouri; her grandchildren, Eric Yanders of Independence, Missouri, and Samantha Yanders of Ithaca, New York; and her lifelong friend and cousin, Liz Gatz, of Chicago, Illinois.
The family wishes to thank University Health Lakewood Care Center and its employees for providing a safe, caring, and kind place for Evelyn to live, as well as KC Hospice. A private ceremony will take place at Memorial Funeral Home.
Memorial contributions may be made in Evelyn’s memory to the Armon F. Yanders Scholarship Fund (Office of Development, 109 Reynolds Alumni Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211), the American Cancer Society, Planned Parenthood, or The Center Project.
