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Lois Josephine Yeakel, 86, the wife of retired Bishop Joseph H. Yeakel. died March 5, 2014, at Colestock Nursing Home, Quincy Village, in Waynesboro, Pa., following a long illness. She and Bishop Yeakel were married 65 years. A service of Faith and Memories was held at Otterbein UMC in Hagerstown, March 22. Her body was donated to the Maryland State Anatomy Board to be used for medical education and research.

Lois Josephine Shank was born Nov. 23, 1927, in Waynesboro, Pa., the daughter of the late Charles Hobart and Esther Maude Greenawalt Shank.

She was a 1945 graduate of Washington Township High School (Pa.) and attended Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa., from 1945-47, and Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa., from 1947-48. She received her bachelor’s degree in 1975 and a master’s degree in 1980 from Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y.

Lois Yeakel was the director of a preschool in Liverpool, N.Y., for six years. She and her husband were foster parents to five children. She will be remembered for her love of the little children she embraced, her green thumb and her caring heart for all she encountered.

On March 26, 1948, she married Joseph H. Yeakel and together, they served the church and made their home a place of welcome in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, and New York.

Survivors, in addition to the bishop, are five children: Claudia J. McIntyre of Silverthorne, Colo.; Dr. J. Douglas Yeakel of Leadville, Colo.; Joanna I. Drushal of Lakeville, Ohio; the Rev. Mary Jo Yeakel, of Ada, Ohio; and Jody L. Kampmeier of Sycamore, Ill., nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Condolences can be sent to Bishop Joseph Yeakel, 201 Quincy Court, Unit D, Waynesboro, PA 17268.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Camp Casowasco Gift Fund, 158 Casowasco Dr., Moravia, NY 13118, Attention Mike Huber.