I am the resurrection,
and the life:
he that believeth in me,
though he were dead, 
yet shall he live:
And whosoever liveth
and believeth in me
shall never die.
Believeth thou this? 

John 11:25, 26

      Ann Yeargain Decker, a dedicated community volunteer for many years, died Sunday, March 6, 2005, at the University Hospital in Columbia . She was 64 years old and lived in Mexico for almost her entire life.

Ann believed strongly that individuals have a responsibility to become involved in their community. Her own volunteer work was motivated by her belief in public education, equal opportunity for all people, and our civic duty to make informed choices in the ballot box.

She served on the Mexico School Board from 1982 to 1988, was a long-time member of the Mexico League of Women Voters, and played an active role in raising funds to expand the Mexico Area YMCA. While her three daughters were growing up, she was a Girl Scout Troop leader, a Sunday school teacher, a Head Start volunteer, and a Mexico Booster. In the 1970s, she worked tirelessly to pass a bond issue to build the Mexico Junior High School and was not deterred when the proposal failed twice before voters approved it.

Ann was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Mexico , where she served on the Pastoral Care Committee.  She was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Colonial Dames.

Born April 2, 1940, in Clarksville , Tenn. , she came with her family to Mexico in 1946. Her father Scott was an appliance dealer, and he served as the mayor of Mexico in the mid 1950s. Ann’s mother Mary Kathryn (Muff) was a reporter at the Mexico Ledger . At one time, Ann’s family and all of her cousins in the Buckner, Sparks , Williams, and Hawthorne families lived together on Woodlawn Street , where the children once wrote and published a family newspaper. Ann graduated from Mexico High School in 1957 and attended Christian College in Columbia .

For several years, Ann worked as a secretary at A.P. Green, where she met her husband, Don Decker. They married on August 12, 1961, and spent many happy years together raising three daughters, traveling, and welcoming six grandchildren.

Ann was an avid reader, a consummate fan of virtually any sport, and a gourmet cook. In the 1960s and 70s, she was a member of Wednesday Club, a book club in Mexico . Over the years, she collected and read so many books that she built her own library at home, carefully arranging hundreds of books in alphabetical order by author’s last name.

On weekends, she often could be found watching football, basketball, or baseball, depending on the season. She knew players’ names, win-loss statistics, standings, and schedules. Her favorite teams were the Mexico Bulldogs, Missouri Tigers, and St. Louis Cardinals.

One of Ann’s favorite pastimes was hosting parties for family and friends. Regardless of the size of the gathering, she carefully planned menus and table decorations and took great delight in seeing her guests enjoy good food and pleasant company.

In recent years, she enjoyed traveling with Don and spending time with her grandchildren. She loved to read to them, and she enthusiastically assembled a small children’s library in her home. Though still young, her grandchildren all know that, “Gran loves books.”

Ann’s family circle extended beyond her blood relatives. During her high school years, her parents welcomed foreign exchange student Michael Naumann of Germany . He became like a brother, and she remained close to him for the rest of her life. This relationship inspired the Decker family to host Henrik Madsen of Denmark and Lourens Boland of Belgium as exchange students, and she regarded them as her sons. At the time of her death, Ann was happily planning a gathering of her whole family in Mexico to welcome Henrik, his wife Gitte, and their sons Peter and Jacob on Easter weekend. 

Ann is survived by her husband Don; daughters Caroline (Michael) Arbanas of Dearborn, Mich., Susan (Michael) Green of Kansas City, Mo., and Sarah (Jeff) Carmichael of Columbia, Mo.; grandchildren George, Julia, William, Sally, Mary, and Anna; a brother Scott (Doc) Yeargain; and sisters Julie Holmen, Kathryn (Charles) Digges, and Jane (Curt) Unger. Her mother Mary Kathryn Yeargain O’Reilly and father Scott A. Yeargain preceded her in death.  

First Presbyterian Church                               Mexico Area YMCA
400 Lakeview Road                                      1127 Adams
Mexico, MO 65265                                      Mexico, MO 65265

 Pickering Funeral Home  
Caring Service Since 1884