Glen E. and Beulah Yoder Scholarship

A commitment to the church . . . a knack for business. . . an interest in teaching and learning . . . a love of travel a willingness to serve .

These phrases help describe the lives and experiences of Glen and Beulah Yoder, who have chosen to perpetuate their interests through others by establishing a scholarship for Goshen College students. In awarding the Yoder Scholarship to deserving Goshen students with financial need, preference is given to those studying in education, (elementary, secondary and special).

Both Glen, who died in September 1983, and Beulah grew up in nearby Shipshewana, Indiana. They attended the same church (Forks Mennonite) and were members of the same high school class. “I was the valedictorian of our senior class and Glen was the salutatorian. He never quite lived that down; he used to say that if it weren’t me, he’d contest it” Beulah laughed.

Instead of contesting his class ranking, Glen decided to marry the top student. The Yoders packed many activities and experiences into their married life that extended more than 50 years.

In 1924 Glen took a job with the Wolfe Grain Company in Shipshewana. The work allowed him to link his farming background with good business sense, a combination that promoted him to the position of grain manager and a 47—year career with the firm. Beulah, who had taken Goshen College’s one—year teacher training course and began teaching before she married, continued her classroom work in the Honeyville, Middlebury and Shipshewana schools. During those years, she also found the time to complete a college degree, which she received from Goshen in 1954.

Following their retirement in 1971, the Yoders took advantage of the chance to enjoy many of their interests more fully. They traveled to visit friends in Africa and continued around the world; they saw the sights of Europe; and they sailed the inside passage of Alaska on a cruise ship to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

During a one—year voluntary service term in Phoenix, the Yoders contributed their abilities as workers at a school for handicapped children. And five busy summers were spent as camp managers at Little Eden Camp in Michigan. Many other church and community projects benefitted from their retirement years, also.

The Yoder’s ties to Goshen College were close and secure for many years. Beulah remembers the 1924—25 student body of 100 as “one big family.” While he never attended Goshen as a student, Glen served the college as a member of the Board of Overseers. As long—time Associates, the Yoders were regular and generous with their financial gifts. The couple three sons——James, David and Terry——their wives, and a couple of grandchildren are CC alumni. (Interestingly, all three Sons are directly involved in education: James teaches in Ft. Wayne school system’s special education program; David is a professor of communication disorders at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; and Terry is an elementary school principal in Goshen).

And so, a lifetime of interesting experiences and solid commitment to college, church and community has culminated in the Yoder Scholarship for Goshen College students. It is a fitting tribute—–to the college, to each student recipient, to the need for quality teaching, and to the donors themselves, who were genuinely interested in them all.