Levon Lee Yoder

LeVon Lee Yoder, retired professor of physics, died Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at his home in Goshen, Indiana.  He was 88 years old.

He was born in Middlebury, Indiana on June 22, 1936, the third son of Leonard C. and Cleo M. (Pletcher) Yoder.  He grew up on farms in Elkhart County.

In 1954, he graduated from Jefferson High School, where he discovered his love for physics.  That interest grew while he was a physics major under Dr. Albert Meyer at Goshen College, where he received his B.A. in physics in 1958. His enrollment in the University of Michigan graduate physics program was delayed for a year to study at the Goshen Biblical Seminary.  He received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Michigan in 1963.

His long teaching career began at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, as assistant professor of physics and department chair from 1963 to 1965.

In 1965, he began his 40-plus-year tenure at Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan, as professor and chairman of physics.  He took pride in facilitating his students’ advancement into engineering careers and graduate programs. When he finally took a sabbatical from teaching in 1986-87, his research with Dr. Gabriel Weinreich at the University of Michigan was focused on the acoustics of musical instruments.  LeVon then created his own acoustic lab at Adrian College.

LeVon loved music.  He played the trumpet in his youth, and enjoyed singing with the Motet Singers at Goshen College under the direction of Dr. Mary Oyer. LeVon married Anita R. Hoffman on August 21, 1960, at the Goshen College Church.  He loved the geodesic dome house and garage that Anita designed and he built overlooking Hazen Creek in a woods west of Adrian.

When LeVon retired in 2008, he again turned to woodworking, designing and making walking sticks in complicated geometric designs using a wide variety of woods.

His 2-mile-a-day run decelerated to a run-walk in later years, then to a 2-mile walk, but continued until one week before his death.  And he continued to be an avid reader.

LeVon was predeceased by his parents, his infant sister Frieda, and brothers Marvin and Ronald Yoder.  He is survived by his wife, Anita Hoffman Yoder, his daughter, Teryl Yoder, his brothers Leon (L.C.) Yoder and Kenyon (Susan) Yoder, and his sister-in-law, Connie Yoder.

Yoder-Culp Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.  A celebration of LeVon’s life will be held at a later date.  Donations in LeVon’s memory may be directed to Mennonite Central Committee; https://mcc.org/ .