Younker, Vada June

Vada June Younker, 76, of Independence, died Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013, at the Buchanan County Health Care Center in Independence.

Vada was born Sept. 6, 1936, in Cantril, Iowa, the daughter of LeRoy and Mary Etta (Wireman) McManis. She was a 1954 graduate of Milton High School, Milton, Iowa. On May 31, 1953, she was united in marriage to Gerald W. Younker in Bloomfield, Iowa. The couple lived in Milton, where Vada was employed as a telephone operator. In 1968, the family moved to Independence, Iowa where she ran the Home Bakery from 1972-1974; then they owned and operated the Montgomery Ward department store from 1974-1976, and from 1986, she and Gerald worked for the Gulf Stream Coach Co. delivering RVs.

She is survived by her husband, Gerald Younker, Independence; three daughters, Kriss (Steve) McGraw, Independence, Kim (Darrell) Brunko, Brandon, and Karla Younker, Robins; nine grandchildren; one stepgrandchild; and 14 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; a brother, Melvin Nichols; and three sisters, Dorothy Roberts, Ruth Hensley and Verlee Morris.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Reiff Funeral Home & Crematory, Independence, with the Rev. Sheri Andersen officiating. Burial will be in Wilson Cemetery, Independence. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to services Saturday at the funeral home.

For more information or to leave an online condolence please go to www.reifffuneralhome.com under obituaries.

Published Jan. 10, 2013 in The Gazette