Iona "Faye" Yates

Iona “Faye” Yates, a resident of New Braunfels, was relieved of her long struggle with Alzheimer’s when she passed away late Christmas night, December 25, 2017 at her home surrounded by her family, just 3 days before her 71st birthday. Faye was born on December 28, 1946 in Leander, TX to Bob Hart and Emalee Maxey Hart. Faye was known as a singer, song writer and Christian evangelist. She had a deep passion for ministering to the broken hearted and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ through her music ministry, and any other means the Lord presented her. She was full of spunk and funny too, yet very serious about her love for the Lord. She recorded six albums in Nashville that were full of music that presented important biblical truths. To Faye the focal part of a song was the message. For this reason, she would often write her own songs in order to proclaim a message that was very personal to her. Although she had the pleasure of working with many notable Christian speakers and ministries across the country, she thoroughly enjoyed every opportunity to sing the national anthem for the San Antonio Spurs, the San Antonio Missions and many other venues. She received a number of awards over the years for her singing and song writing and performed at numerous venues across the country, and several international venues as well. There were also a number of opportunities on various TV and radio programs. In her book, “Thank You for the Valley,” she tells a personal story of triumph when life’s journey took her where she didn’t want to go and is based on the experience of raising April, her Down’s syndrome daughter. Faye also authored and presented a Christian conference entitled “Hope Beyond Imagination”, where she spoke on how to maintain your hope and joy regardless of life’s circumstances. But, above all else, she was a loving and dedicated wife and mother. She was preceded in death by her mother, Emalee Hart and her father, Bob Hart. Survivors include her loving husband of over 43 years, Richard Yates; children, Autumn Hokenson, April Yates, and Crystal Coburn; brother, Don Hart; and 9 beautiful grandchildren. Memorial services are scheduled for 3:00pm on Monday, January 8th, at Oakwood Baptist Church, New Braunfels, TX.