The person behind the Ida Yaney Overholser Award

Since 2020, the Ida Yaney Overholser Award has been given to a volunteer associated with the Central Indiana Chapter of Teach One to Lead One (T1L1).

T1L1 is a mentoring group that is led and supported by local caring adults. These mentors meet with students in their schools to help them find their purpose and reach their potential. The Ida Award is given annually to a person who has been instrumental to the success of the program in a behind-the-scenes role.

After the recent Ida Award was announced, a reader of the Hamilton County Reporter asked to know a bit more about the person behind the naming of the award. Let me introduce you to my grandmother, Ida.

Ida Eliza Henschen was born in 1885 in Adams County, Ind., to Jacob Henschen, a German immigrant, and Mary Spangler-Henschen. She married Orville Yaney when she was 22 years old. They moved to Oklahoma, where Orville worked in the oil fields. They had nine children in the span of 17 years.

Her life was filled with hardship. In 1919, Ida’s younger brother, Frank, died after he contracted the Spanish Flu during service in the U.S. Army. Within a year of Frank’s death, Ida’s two-year-old son (whom she had also named Frank) took ill and died. After 26 years of marriage, Orville left Ida and the children. This was in 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression. He did not tell her he was leaving, but departed for work one day and never returned. She was 48 years old. Left without income, Ida and her children moved back to Indiana to live with her parents.

Ida (fourth from the left) with her parents and siblings. Her brother, Frank Henschen (the tallest in the photo) is standing next to her. (Photo provided)

Four years later, tragedy struck again after her 12-year-old daughter, Betty, was visiting a friend and consumed some food that had gone bad. The food poisoning was severe and Betty died just a few days later. Authorities wanted to conduct an autopsy in order to bring charges against the mother of Betty’s friend for feeding her poisoned food. Ida insisted that no autopsy be conducted or charges be filed – the mother had suffered enough.

Before she passed away, Ida endured the death of five of her nine children. When so much heartache happens to a person, you might expect them to become resentful. Ida responded in a different way. Understanding that her children needed a better response than bitterness, she set out to help them see hardship as an obstacle to overcome, not a place to live the rest of their lives. She made a point of helping people who were facing adversity – the sick, the elderly and the brokenhearted. She cleaned their houses, spent nights nursing them when they were sick, and lending help where needed. Her model was picked up by her children and their lives became centered on service to others. I should know; Ida’s youngest son, Bill, was my father.

Ida and J.E. Overholser both lived to celebrate their 100th birthdays. (Photo provided)

When Ida was 68 years old, she encountered a childhood friend in need, J.E. Overholser, who had recently become a widower. Her tenderness toward his loss sparked something in both of them. They married and spent 32 years together. Ida was 100 years old when she passed away. J.E. lived another three years and died at 102 years old.

If my grandmother were alive today, she would blush at the thought of an award being given in her honor. She was not one to seek the spotlight or push to the front of the line – far from it. However, she embodied the Universal Principles that T1L1 embraces: respect, integrity, self-control, compassion, courage, teamwork, excellence, humility, enthusiasm and honor.

It takes selfless volunteers to ensure this mentoring program moves forward because every kid deserves the opportunity to find their purpose and reach their potential. So, I find it fitting that our behind-the-scenes volunteers who help make T1L1 successful are honored in her name.