- Date Of Birth: January 23, 1992
- Date Of Death: March 13, 2022
- State: Indiana
Evette Makar Yoder died in a motor vehicle collision in Tipton County, Indiana the night of March 13, 2022. She was 30 years old.
Evette was born in Phoenix, Arizona on January 23, 1992, to Monica Alderson and Jim Gillcoat, and was adopted by Lowell and Ruth Yoder. She earned an associate’s degree in chemistry at Hesston College in Hesston, Kansas in 2012 and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana in 2015. During a gap year between attending Hesston and Goshen, she served with Mennonite Voluntary Service in St. Louis, Missouri. She spent summers with Mennonite Disaster Service helping to rebuild communities struck by tornadoes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. She served as crew leader on several construction projects. Some of the male crew members she worked with were not happy about taking direction from her. Nevertheless, she persisted, because despite her small build and quiet voice, she was a bad-ass.
At Goshen College, Evette was active in a student board game club, where she gained a reputation as an “absolutely ruthless and cutthroat” adversary who wiped the board with her opponents. One of these opponents was Stuart Kurtz, who, being a glutton for punishment, asked her out on a date, sort of but kind of not, then later for real, and proposed to her a few years later. They were married on July 28, 2018.
Evette’s fierceness was never more on display than in her care and compassion for humans and animals in need. She worked as a mental health caseworker for several years, and most recently worked as a pet-sitter. Her clients, and their pets, adored her, and several clients expressed surprise at how their usually-skittish pets warmed to her.
In addition to board games and pets, her interests included shopping at thrift stores (designer wedding dress: $16 plus tax), Anime, Pokemon Go, video games, and being goofy with her husband.
She is survived by her husband Stuart Kurtz of Indianapolis, Indiana; her parents Ruth and Lowell Yoder of Phoenix, Arizona; and her birth parents Monica Alderson and Jim Gillcoat of Phoenix, Arizona.
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