- Date Of Birth: July 20, 1946
- Date Of Death: August 17, 2018
- State: Idaho
Lady Marlene Faye (Yekel) Stephens, 72, of Caldwell, Idaho, went to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Friday, August 17, 2018. She succumbed to the accumulated effects of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the tongue at her home surrounded by her ministering angels and her care-giver, husband of 46 years, Rodney Daryl Stephens.
Lady Marlene was born on July 20, 1946 to Herbert and Viola Yekel at their family farm in Mitchell, Nebraska. Marlene was delivered by her Army Medical Nurse father and spent her formative years helping out on the farm and going to school in Mitchell, where she later became well-known as a school cheerleader. Upon the passing of her Maternal Grandmother, Anna Mathilda Swanson, the Herbert Yekel family relocated to Caldwell, Idaho in 1960, at the urging of Marlene’s uncle, Dave Yekel. Once their home was built in 1962, overlooking Lake Lowell, Marlene finished her schooling at Vallivue High School. She took great care to emulate Jesus Christ as she fulfilled the role and duties of school Chaplain, to which office she had been elected. She was the first graduate of Vallivue High School and upon graduation in 1964 started working for Idaho Department Store (IDS), General Office, in downtown Caldwell.
She always had a love for people of all types, colors, and classes, but working for the IDS gave her a new love for modeling clothes, which she did throughout her life. In 1968, Marlene and her sister, Pam, moved from Caldwell to Silicon Valley, California, where Marlene started working for several car dealers. In 1972, she met and married her husband, and together they shared a passion for serving Afternoon Teas to friends and family in their home.
Marlene accepted Christ as her Savior at age seven and displayed Christ’s compassion and love for people everywhere she went her whole life long. Wherever she went in life, she made friends, both small and great and knew everyone on a first name basis – from Presidents or CEOs to the janitors of many top companies in the Silicon Valley.
Marlene was preceded in death by her mother, Viola Vivian (Swanson) Yekel, her father, Herbert Yekel, numerous aunts and uncles, as well as, her beloved pet toy poodle, Nikki.
Survivors include her husband of 46 years, Rodney Daryl Stephens; her sisters, Judene (Greg) Esplin of McCall, ID, and Pamela (Steve) DeVeaux of Redding, CA; her brother, Eldon (Cathy-Anne) Yekel of Rio-Vista, CA; Angel Sister and Angel Brother, Pancy (Jifan) Pan of Mountain View, CA; Angel Sister, Joanna Yee of San Mateo, CA; Angel Sister, Helen (George) Shu of San Jose, CA; and Angel Sister, Barbara Kalkis of San Jose, CA.
