Ruth A. (Powell) Yancey

At age 74, Ruth Ann (Powell) Yancey went to meet her Savior on

Monday, December 10, 2018.  She passed away peacefully at her home in Nampa after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Ruth was born in Ashland, Ohio, in May of 1944, the first child of loving parents Dr. William F. (V2015) and Carol M. Powell (V1998). She lived her early years on a farm in Ohio during which time her father was serving in the US Army.

After the end WWII, the family moved to Southern California where she attended several Christian schools started by her father, including Norwalk Nazarene Christian Day School. 

Ruth started piano lessons at the tender age of 5 with Dr. Hildie of Pasadena Nazarene College. During her early years she became an accomplished pianist and often accompanied her father who was a commissioned song evangelist for the Church of the Nazarene. She recalled that at age 9, she first accompanied her dad as he sang the hymn, “Child of the King.” She said from that time forward she never once doubted that she was indeed a child of the King.  A person of deep and abiding faith, her favorite scripture was Psalm 91.

She graduated class Valedictorian from Excelsior High School, Norwalk, California in 1961, after which she moved to Nampa, Idaho, to attend Northwest Nazarene College (NNC). She majored in Biology, sang with the Northwesterners, and traveled with the Christian Workers Band playing the piano. At NNC she also met her future husband Daniel H. Yancey of Eugene, Oregon.

Ruth and Dan were married in Norwalk, California, September 5, 1964, and graduated from NNC in 1965.

Throughout her life and for nearly 50 years, Ruth was very involved in serving her church through music as a pianist and organist.  She started her service to the church as music director for the Fairview Church of the Nazarene during her Senior year at NNC and continued to serve in Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri; Santa Clara and Eugene, Oregon; Lakewood, Colorado; and Homedale, Nampa, and Caldwell (Canyon Hill), Idaho.

After college, Ruth and Dan move to Kansas City, Missouri, where Dan attended Nazarene Theological Seminary and where their two children Christina and John were born.  Ruth also earned her Master’s at the University of Kansas and taught multiple subjects at Notre Dame High School in KC. She also taught kindergarten at Loretto De Sion and Montessori at the Jewish Community Center.

After Kansas City, Dan turned to coaching gymnastics which involved frequent moves.  They lived a number of places during these years, including Denver, Colorado, where Ruth assisted Dan with running the Colorado Gymnastics Academy.

Ruth and family eventually made their way back to Idaho, where they settled for good.  She served as pianist, organist, and choir member for the Karcher Church of the Nazarene for 18 years. Even after she retired, she continued to serve as accompanist and provide music for funerals, weddings, and special performances for local churches, including College Church of the Nazarene. 

Ruth also served as office manager for Suburban Propane in Nampa for over 20 years, from which she retired in the early 2000s.  She came out of retirement for a couple of years to serve as Education Director of Grace Christian Academy.

In their retirement, Dan and Ruth traveled hundreds of thousands of miles through the backcountry of Idaho and Oregon and the Oregon coast, taking beautiful photographs of the iconic places they had visited and come to love over the years. Many’s the time they started a Saturday morning at the Sunrise Café and ended up at their beloved Oregon Coast.

While at home, their extended family included the staff and patrons of the Sunrise Café in Nampa, and the Orchard House. They invested themselves deeply in these relationships which came to mean a great deal to them over the years.

Ruth had an open and loving heart and made all of her children’s spouses and their families, throughout all the changes and complications life brings, feel like part of the family.

Ruth lived a life of service to many, including her extended family.  She cared for her Aunt Ruth’s estate after she passed and spoke out as an advocate for seniors. During the last 5 years of their father’s life, Ruth and her younger brother Frank bonded over caring for their father who was suffering from Alzheimer’s.

For seven years, and despite her own health challenges, she cared for her husband Dan as his health declined due to early onset Alzheimer’s.

Ruth is survived by Daniel H. Yancey, her husband of 54 years, their two children Christina V. (Yancey) Barker of Nampa (husband Kevin), and John F. Yancey of Meridian (wife Tracy), sisters Joy M. (Powell) Sloan (husband Peter) of Orange, California, Dr. Barbara C. Powell of Enterprise, Oregon, and brother William F. “Frank” Powell of Boise. She and Dan were blessed with many grandchildren including David Silva (wife Amelia), Mathew Silva, Alison (Silva) Rex (husband Nate), and Andrew Silva; also Tabitha Yancey, Brandon Yancey, Anastaisha (Crawford) Kvamme (husband Hank), Ashley Crawford and great grandsons Cooper and Oliver, and Casey Crawford. 

The family would like to offer special thanks to Brenda Rohwer, Kylie Wheeler, and Hunter Laird for the loving and attentive care they provided to Ruth in her final days.

The memorial service for Ruth will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, December 18, 2018, at the College Church of the Nazarene, 508 E Dewey Ave, Nampa, Idaho.  She will be laid to rest in her family plot next to her parents at Greenleaf Cemetery, Hwy 19, Greenleaf, Idaho.  Pallbearers:  William F. Powell, David E. Silva, Matthew R. Silva, Andrew W. Silva, Brandon J. Yancey, and Brenna G. Inman.

The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, 2600 Network Blvd Suite #300, Frisco, TX 75034.

Funeral arrangements by Nampa Funeral Home, Yraguen Chapel. 415 12th Ave. So. Nampa. Floral arrangements by HeavenEssence, Boise.

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