Yvonne Berline (Troutman) Wake, of Holland, MI, died at home on December 8, 2022. At the age of 85. Yvonne was born in Knox Co., Kentucky on March 15, 1937. She was the oldest child of Edgar Harrison Troutman and Hazel Ruby (Engle) Troutman. As a child, Yvonne’s family moved several times before eventually settling in Toledo, Ohio. Yvonne advanced two grades in elementary school and graduated from Scott High School at age 16. Yvonne got a job at age 16 at the Willy’s Jeep Administration Building working as a secretary at the car manufacturer where her dad also worked. Yvonne was efficient in shorthand, typing, and had beautiful cursive writing.
It was at Willy’s that she met Gerald Wake. They were married April 27, 1957 at Christ Episcopal Church in Dearborn, MI (Jerry’s hometown). They had three daughters over the next five years and moved several times before building their dream home in Livonia, MI, where they lived for 27 years. In 2001 they decided to head for warmer weather and moved to The Villages, Fl. They spent 19 wonderful years there where they enjoyed golf, bowling, cart rides, and great friends.
In 2019, just as Covid broke out, they moved back to Michigan to be closer to their daughters.
Yvonne was a talented crafter and was extremely proud of the work she and daughter Debra did on the Troutman family genealogy. In 1994 they attended the 90th annual Troutman Family Reunion in Troutman, NC, where their work helped fill in Yvonne’s g.g.grandfather William Troutman’s empty branch on his father, Jacob Troutman’s family tree that is painted on the wall of the old schoolhouse on the historic family grounds and helped write the Troutman family history book.
Yvonne is preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her beloved husband, Gerald Wake, daughters and son-in-laws, Debra Wake, Laura (Wake) and Pete Kennedy of Holland, and Susan and Jay Armstrong of Monroe, MI, sister Jewel (Anthony) Rogers of Collegedale, Tn, and brothers, Edgar (Sharon) Troutman of Maumee, OH, and Ronnie Michael Troutman of Ooltewah, TN, and sister and brothers-in-law, Donna (Wake) Vach of Jacksonville, Fl, Don (Mary Jo) Wake of Whitmore Lake, and John (Shirley) Wake of Pinehurst, NC, grandsons Dennis Jr (Michele) Gleeton of Maricopa, AZ and Ryan Sanders of Augusta, GA, great-grandson Aiden Sanders, as well as nieces and nephews. She was deeply loved and will be missed by all. Memorial service to be announced later.
