Yvette Ida Backer

Yvette Ida Backer, 80, of Sioux City was called home by her heavenly father Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007, at her residence surrounded by her family.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Monday at Church of the Nativity, with her nephew, the Rev. Armand Bertrand officiating. Visitation will be 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday, with the family present 6 to 8 p.m., and a prayer service at 7 p.m. with her nephew, the Rev. Mister Jerry Bertrand officiating, at Meyer Brothers Morningside Chapel, 6200 Morningside Ave.

Yvette was born March 19, 1927, in Jefferson, S.D., the daughter of Joseph and Alice (Pichette) DeMers. She grew up in Jefferson, where she attended grade school and graduated from high school in 1946.

She married Clarence Backer on June 7, 1949. Their wedding took place at St. Jean Catholic Church in Sioux City. Nine children were born to this union. She was a homemaker for several years and employed as a line worker at Zenith Corporation for 12 years.

She prayed often and loved the Lord. She enjoyed spending hours with her husband, children, grandchildren and siblings. She enjoyed a lively game of cards and would play for hours a day. She loved going to coffee with her friends and watching Wheel of Fortune. The couple enjoyed wintering in Mesa, Ariz., until her health began to fail. They acquired many friends through these travels. She was a loving wife and mother, often sacrificing for her family's welfare. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her.

Left to cherish her memory are her husband, Clarence of Sioux City; nine children, Kathleen (Gordon) Pynn of Sioux City, William (Cindy) Backer of Sergeant Bluff, Sandra (Jack) Maiso of Sioux City, Ronda (Dan) Whitson of Springfield, Mo., Michael (Diane) Backer of Murietta, Calif., Douglas (Cindy) Backer of Sioux City, Sharon Backer (Gene Klunk) of LaPalma, Calif., Barbara (Steven) Condon of Sioux City, and Debra Backer of Indianapolis, Ind.; two sisters, Yvonne Bertrand and Pierrette Titus, both of Sioux City; a brother, Aurelian (Frenchy) DeMers of Garden Grove, Calif.; 18 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; three brothers, John, Raymond and Albert DeMers; and a sister, Lucille Griencewic.

Pallbearers will be her grandsons, Heath, Adam and Kip Condon, Kyle and Bill Backer and Shane Monlux.

In lieu of flowers, please direct memorials to Hospice of Siouxland or the Carmelite Nuns of Sioux City.