Iva Yelton

~ An Era of Southern Charm not soon to be forgotten ~

With hearts full of gratitude and sorrow, we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Iva Mae Yelton (née Milam). Unafraid and with an open heart she ‘flew’ home to be with the Lord on August 5, 2026 at the age of 91. Born on August 25, 1934 in Paynes Mississippi, she lived a life worthy of a story to be told and retold. From humble beginnings and the hardships of those days until her final days here on earth, she believed in and trusted God to provide for and sustain her, which He surely did! A woman of beauty, strength and full of witty southern charm, she was unyielding, a bit feisty, loving and, simply unforgettable to all those who had the pleasure to know and love her. Iva Mae grew up in the deep south Mississippi Delta picking cotton alongside her brothers and sisters until she graduated High School and left for Washington DC to work for the FBI where she met the love of her life Cecil. Iva Mae loved her pretty jewelry, flowers, gospel music, hearing the word, and a good sausage biscuit but most of all, her Lord and Saviour who she readily told to anyone who would listen “Nothing can get me down as long as I have Jesus!”

Iva Mae built a life defined by devotion to her faith and family. She was a loving mother to her 6 children – Terri Hyne (Eric), Criss Yelton (Macie), Susanne Smith, Kim Marciano, Laura Merson-Collier (Dave), and Fred Yelton. She delighted in her 19 grandchildren & 26 great-grandchildren! She was a loving wife to her late husband Cecil James Yelton, a caring sister to Martha Prowell, Delorice Hendricks, Virgie Rippee and Jeff Milam, and a beautiful friend to so many who adored her. She is preceded in death by her father and mother, Andrew Reece and Lillian Viola (Walker) Milam, her beloved step-mother Jesse Milam, Brothers Eldridge, Joseph, and George Milam, and sister Katherine German.

Services will be held on Sunday, August 9, 2026 with Visitation from 12-2pm immediately followed by a Chapel Service, the Rev Jack Cox officiating, at Donaldson Funeral Home ~ 1411 Annapolis Rd, Odenton MD 21113. Graveside services for immediate family will be held at the Kirkridge Cemetery in Manchester, MD.