| Notes |
- Obituary, "Bismarck Tribune":
Barb Wild, 50, Seattle, died July 26, 2002, in a Seattle hospital after an 11-year battle with metastatic breast cancer. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Aug. 17 at St. George's Episcopal Church, Bismarck, with the Rev. Michael Horn officiating. A reception will follow the service at the Kelly Inn, Bismarck.
Barbara was born Sept. 1, 1951, in Bismarck, the daughter of John and Irene Yonker. She was raised in Bismarck and graduated from Bismarck High School in 1969. She graduated from Pensacola, Fla., in 1972. Barb was a registered nurse for 30 years, working in hospitals in Phoenix, Ariz., Seattle and Pensacola, as well as St. Alexius Medical Center and Medcenter One in Bismarck. Barbara received her bachelor's degree from Mary College in 1980. She was recently recognized for successfully maintaining her critical care registered nursing certification for 20 consecutive years.
Barbara married Tim Wild in 1971 in Bismarck. They moved to Pensacola for two years, then returned to Bismarck, where they spent 13 years. They moved to Tempe, Ariz., where they lived for seven years, and it was in Arizona in 1991 that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was given a 15 percent chance of survival. Barb chose to be one of the 15 percent. She was an inspiration to others with cancer for her spirit and ability to work through extensive chemotherapy.
In 1995 they moved to Seattle, and in 1997 her cancer returned and she underwent a stem cell transplant. Once again, Barb served as an inspiration, role model and helper to others battling cancer. In spite of ongoing chemotherapy, Barb volunteered each year to spend two weeks in Oaxaca, Mexico, helping with surgical procedures for indigent children. On July 1 of this year, she was diagnosed with chemo-induced acute leukemia. Always a fighter, she was going to attempt a bone marrow transplant, harvesting the marrow from her sister, Jill. This time her body was too tired, the cancer too much.
Barb touched so many lives and inspired so many people. It is a great comfort to her family knowing that her spirit lives on in the many, many lives she influenced. People loved her for her unbridled enthusiasm and unconditional love. Even knowing and accepting her own death, she considered herself fortunate. The day before she died, she looked up at her husband, smiled and said, "Buy me a lottery ticket, I feel lucky." It is those who knew and loved her who are truly lucky.
Barb is survived by her husband, Tim, Seattle; two sons, Jackson, Portland, Ore., and Christopher, New York; her father and stepmother, John and Clara Yonker, Bismarck; two sisters and brothers-in-law, Jill and Bob Wiese, Washburn, and Marcia and Jeff Ketterling, Elgin; one nephew, Johnny Ketterling; four nieces, Ashley and Kayla Wiese and Kate and Molly Ketterling; and her step-grandmother, Myra Yonker, Garrison.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Irene Yonker.
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1951 - 2002 (50 years)
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