Nellie Yordy

With a colorful palette of diverse interests, Nellie Yordy lived a long and fruitful life in which she took every opportunity to really experience what the world around her had to offer. She brightened the days of so many others whether with a fantastic dessert, a birthday card filled with love, or just a warm smile. Nellie possessed a vibrant faith that sustained her through both the peaks and valleys throughout her life. She loved celebrating the holidays with her family, especially with the love of her life with whom she shared the happiest days of her life. Nellie was a woman who was truly a delight to know by all who were blessed to be within her reach. The decade of the 1910s was a time in which America was struggling to find her way a bit as there were pressing issues to deal with such as child labor laws, differences of opinions on how to handle immigration, and unsafe working conditions in so many cities and towns across America. In fact, it was in 1914 that 5,000 workers were killed on the job and 700,000 were injured. It was during this same year that Frank and Elizabeth Bessie (Allen) Wren were delighted to welcome their daughter, Nellie Marie, into their hearts and home on December 1st. Born at home on the family farm in Grant, Michigan, Nellie was the youngest of five girls in her family including Alice, Elsie, Rosa, and Ola. While her mother was a busy homemaker, Nellies father was hard at work as a farmer in order to provide for his family. In many ways, Nellie experienced a childhood that was rather typical for the youth of this generation. Farming was a family affair and of course, Nellie had chores she was responsible for. She liked feeding the chickens, although this usually equated to chasing them instead of feeding them! She enjoyed taking walks with her sisters, but her older sisters werent always fond of her tagging along so sometimes they tied her up instead! Nellie liked playing with the neighborhood children and always had a fun time with the skis her father made for all of his girls. The Wren family regularly attended church together, establishing within Nellie a faith that would accompany her throughout her life. Tragedy struck early in Nellies life with the death of her father when she was still a young girl, which left her mother to raise their girls all on her own. She attended Grant School and Grant High School. There was seldom a dull moment around Nellies household. When Nellie and her sister Ola were teenagers, Ola had been dreaming of a haircut for her hair that was so long it hung down to her waist. Her mother would not hear of it, so Nellie and Ola took matters into their own hands. When their mother went away for a couple of hours one day, Nellie gave Ola the haircut she had been wishing for, cropping it to just below her ears. What a sight their mother took in upon her return! After graduating from high school, Nellie was ready to embark on the next phase of her journey. She furthered her education at Muskegon Business College and moved out on her own. Nellie was renting an apartment from a woman who had a grandson named John Yordy. John finally mustered up enough courage to ask Nellie out and a dating relationship ensued. Their relationship blossomed into true love and they were married on December 25, 1941, exactly 39 years after Nellies parents exchanged their vows. During the year that followed, Nellie was an Army wife who moved with her husband to California and stayed in California while John was in the Philippines during WWII. When his time in the service was completed, Nellie and John moved back to Muskegon, Michigan, and settled into a house on Walton Street. They later moved to a home on Porter Road in Norton Shores. Nellie worked as an executive secretary at Teledyne Continental Motors for 25 years before retiring. She greatly enjoyed going out to eat with the other retired secretaries for many years. Although they never had any children of their own, Nellie and John had several children who loved them dearly. They loved having all their nieces and nephews over and doing special things for them. Nellie always sent them birthday cards and regularly brought them cinnamon rolls, too. The holidays were special times for Nellie because they meant sharing time with family. She was an excellent cook who was especially famous for her blueberry delight. On one occasion, Nellie and her sister Rosa were baking biscuits, but when they got them out of the oven they accidentally dropped them. They picked those biscuits right up off the ground, brushed them off, and then served them without breathing a word to anyone. In addition to spending time with her family, Nellie enjoyed some other interests as well. She and John combined his love for trains with their shared love for travel by visiting several Pennsylvania Railroad areas. They were also members of Central United Methodist Church where Nellie was active in the womens guild. With so much love to give, Nellie Yordy was as sweet as they come. She worked hard throughout her life, yet realized that true joy does not come from material gain but from the joy found in each moment. Although her life was not without hardship, Nellie faced whatever challenge came her way with both strength and grace. She leaves behind a brilliant tapestry of memories to be cherished by those she leaves behind. Nellie will be dearly missed and warmly remembered. Nellie Yordy died on Thursday, March 25, 2010, at Laurels of Sandy Creek Nursing Home. Nellies family includes her nieces and nephews all in Michigan: Eleanor Barnes, Joyce DeNio, Aaron Aspinwall, Irene (Arnold) Blain, Mary (Lee) Swainston, and several great and great-great nieces and nephews. Nellie was preceded in death by her husband, John, parents, sisters: Elsie (Elmer) Paulsen, Alice (Laurence) Schreader, Rosa (Leonard) Aspinwall, and Ola (Chester) Bostwick. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com where you can leave a memory or sign the online guestbook.