Anna May Decker

ANNA MAY DECKER, 97, formerly of Chester, Illinois, passed away peacefully on Thursday, January 28, 2021 at Legacy Living Memory Care, Arlington, Texas.

She was born to the late Floyd and Edith (nee Hagen) Meyer on May 17, 1923 in Schuline, Illinois. Her father, Floyd ran a large apple and peach orchard and hog farm. Caring for others was the major theme of her life. She was the first of six children and she helped raise her brothers and sisters. She attended an eight-sided, one-room schoolhouse which called upon older children to teach the younger children. At 18, she joined the Army Nursing Corps in St. Louis and served as a registered nurse during World War II.

Anna May married Donald “Don” Herman Decker, a native of Chester, on May 18, 1946, after he had completed his service in the Navy Air Corps based in Kodiak, Alaska. Don worked in the oil industry, so they moved frequently over the years from Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania to Arkansas.

Anna May loved her Lord Jesus. As well as nursing, she served in each church as a Sunday School teacher. She had a beautiful voice and often sang solos for her churches. After Don passed away in 1977, she moved to Indiana to be near family. Retired from nursing, she managed a bookstore for her church for nearly 20 years. Her last years were spent in assisted and memory care facilities in Arlington, Texas where she was appreciated for her kindness and good humor. Anna May will be remembered by all as a kind, loving, good natured lover of Jesus and puzzles, and a good listener. She would say things that everyone else thought was funny, but she missed the humor.

Survivors:

3 Children:

Steven (Nadia) Decker

Dee Layne (Kenneth) Spitler

Kendall (Sandy) Decker

Sister-in-law:

Judith Meyer

6 Grandchildren

6 Great Grandchildren

Many Nieces and Nephews

Preceded in Death by : Parents, Husband, and 5 Siblings – Lloyd (Phyllis) Meyer, Gloria (Jack) Pickford, Ronald (Doris) Meyer, Franklin Meyer, and Joyce (Charles) Hoffman

Graveside Service :

2:00 pm, Saturday, February 27, 2021

St. John Lutheran Cemetery

Chester, Illinois

Memorials:

Alzheimer's Association