Charlotte Earldine “Deanie” Youngman

BATAVIA, Ill. — Charlotte Earldine “Deanie” Youngman, a Wausa native and longtime resident, died Sept. 2, 2019, in Batavia, Ill., after a short illness.

Memorial services will be 2 p.m., Sept. 21, at The Gathering Place at The Holmstad, 700 W. Fabyan Pkwy., Batavia, preceded by visitation at 1 p.m., and followed by a reception.

Deanie was born Nov. 14, 1928, to Oscar and Ellen Ottoson on their farm outside Wausa, joining older sister Helen. After graduating at the top of her Wausa High School class at age 16, she began teaching in country schoolhouses near town before both Ottoson sisters enrolled in North Park College in Chicago in 1948.

It was there, Deanie met her future husband, Ralph E. Youngman, who went on to be a pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church. They married in Wausa May 29, 1951, and served Covenant churches in Chariton, Iowa; LeRoy and Tustin, Mich.; Ashtabula, Ohio; Lockport, Ill.; Brockton/ East Bridgewater, Mass.; and Centerville, Iowa, before retiring in 1995. Ralph and Deanie then moved into the same house on Sherman Street in Wausa where her parents had moved in retirement; they were active in Wausa Covenant Church, which hosted their 50th wedding anniversary celebration in 2001. In 2009 they relocated to the Holmstad retirement community in Batavia, Ill., and celebrated their 60th anniversary there. Ralph preceded her in death in January 2015.

Deanie is survived by her children, Owen (Linda), Deerfield, Ill.; Randy (Cathy), San Clemente, Calif.; and Judy (Phil Kiefer), Germantown, Wis.; grandchildren, Betsy (Eric Giffin) and Timothy Kiefer (Sarah), all of Green Bay, Wis.; and great-grandchildren Jack, Emmett, Stella, and Miriam.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents and sister.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Benevolent Care Fund at The Holmstad, 700 W. Fabyan Pkwy., Batavia, IL 60510.