Renate Yoakum, 77, of Nederland passed away Wednesday, September 14, 2022, at Harbor Hospice of Beaumont, Texas. Renate was born January 28, 1945, in Ramstein Germany to Grete and Hans Engel.

Renate enjoyed cooking, baking, sewing, knitting and needlepoint. She also loved working in her garden, relaxing with a good book, playing cards and listening to some good southern gospel music. She was always ready for and enjoyed taking vacations, with her favorite being vacations spent at the beach.

Renate was preceded in death by her parents, Grete Ella (Schmidt) Engel and Hans Engel; stepmother, Elsa; husband, Milton L. Yoakum; stepbrother, Lothar Strauch and son, James Lee Yoakum.

Those left to cherish Renate’s memory are her daughters, Kitty Yoakum of Bryan, TX; and Patricia Wood and her husband, Jack of Nederland, TX; grandson, Michael Head and his wife, Megan of Fort Hood, TX; Jack Wood, III of Port Neches, TX; granddaughter, Candace Yoakum of Oklahoma City, OK; eight great grandchildren and a host of loving extended family members and friends. Renate is also survived by brother-in-law, Finley Yoakum and his wife, Betty; stepbrother, Wilfred Strauch, half-brother, Horst Engel of Germany.

A gathering of family and friends will be held Sunday, September 18, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m., with a Celebration of Renate’s Life to begin at 11:00 a.m., at Melancon’s Funeral Home in Nederland. Interment will follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery in Nederland.