When she couldn’t get back up, her mom, Tammy Kincaid, stepped in to help and took Echo to Conemaugh Nason, which in turn sent her by helicopter to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown.

On that day, Oct. 11, 2025, at 31 years of age, Echo suffered a stroke.

In the months that followed, Echo, filled with determination, worked hard to regain what she had lost and, while she still has a bit to go, she and her husband Jonathan showed off her fighting spirit during the 2026 Pennsylvania State Farm Show, where they gave a presentation about “farming, homesteading and overcoming obstacles,” encouraging others to continue in the face of darkness.

“I will work every day to show my kids what it means to keep going,” Echo said. “My goal is to get stronger than ever. I won’t be defined by my stroke.”

Echo and Jonathan Yoder are seen on their way to the state Farm Show. Courtesy photo

Fiercely farm

Echo was born on a beef farm in 1995 to Larry and Tammy Kincaid of Rockwood, where she learned work ethic and farming techniques with her brother, Williams Kincaid.

“Growing up on the farm was hard work, but we learned to appreciate and value life,” she said.

“We would get up before school, go to the barn, and then do barnwork again after school.”

Larry recalls Echo’s frequent journeys to their barn during snowstorms worse than last week’s blizzard. When their goats were kidding, she was “out there constantly,” he said.

Echo and Jonathan Yoder stand with their children and five sheep in August after showing at the Somerset County Fair. Courtesy photo

While working on the farm, Echo attended school at Rockwood Area School District in Somerset County before switching to PA Cyber Charter School her freshman year. After graduating in 2012, Echo attended Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, earning an associate’s degree in criminal justice in 2014.

And she kept on farming, noting that was one of the perks of a community college.

Echo met her husband Jonathan through 4-H, bonding over their mutual love of cows, Echo’s mother-in-law, Lois Yoder, said.

The pair married in 2018 and set up their Imler farm, Echo Springs Farm, where they practice sustainable farming methods and offer self-sustainability classes that teach canning, food preservation and holistic remedies.

Because they both grew up farming, there was “never a question if we would farm,” Echo said. “We both live for the farm life.”

Frances Susan, 5, and Mark Sawyer, 3, push their mom, Echo Yoder, through the halls at rehab. Courtesy photo

Welcoming their first child, Frances Susan, in 2020, Echo and Jonathan went on to create a family of five on the farm, aiming to “leave the land better than they found it, nurturing the next generation of farmers who will carry on their legacy and love for the ​land,” their website states.

‘Prayers, love and support’

The family’s love of farming and their ties with the community have been stabilizing forces as Echo fought through the effects of the stroke and diagnosis of two blood clots and a small bleed at the bottom of her brain stem.

That first day, when the stroke symptoms were still developing, Echo’s dad was sitting in a tree stand, feeling helpless because he couldn’t help his daughter.

“Thank God for cellphones,” he said, adding he was kept up-to-date throughout the process.

In the hospital, Echo’s best friend Erin Jay cried. “Not out of sadness, but out of pure relief that my friend was still here.”

Echo was hooked up to machines, couldn’t talk or swallow, developed vision issues and had some paralysis.

“And even then, I could see it in her eyes. She was ready to fight like hell,” Jay said.

Jonathan was steadfast by his wife’s side, fighting with her and for her, while also taking care of their family, the farm and keeping the community up to date on her progress through regular Facebook posts.

Once critical hospital treatment ended, Echo was transferred to Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital, Altoona, where she had to relearn much of what is taken for granted.

After passing a swallow test, moving from a wheelchair to a walker and finally to a cane, and after hours spent working to get stronger, Echo returned to her Imler home 34 days after her stroke.

Written like a poem on Facebook, where friends and family received daily updates, Echo wrote on Nov. 21: “What have I learned in 6 weeks … All strokes are different; strokes have their own timeline; how to swallow; how to move my leg and foot; how to move my arm and hand; how to grip things; who has my back; who will be there no matter what; life doesn’t go as planned; don’t take the small things for granted.”

She ended with: “I want to thank everyone for the continued prayers, love and support.”

The prayers, love and support referenced in posts by Jonathan and Echo throughout her recovery show the family’s great appreciation for the community.

While she and her family were dealing with life changes, her best friend set up a GoFundMe account to help with medical and travel expenses. Area churches made donations and residents offered their food and time. Tammy Kincaid organized a spaghetti dinner in Somerset County, and Lois Yoder collected 34 baskets for a raffle in Bedford County.

Community support was “just overwhelming,” her parents said, adding that everyone helped during their time of need.

Echo always donated produce to local churches, so it was heartwarming to see “it come back,” her dad said.

“People you didn’t know were your friends stepped up,” Lois said. “We’re very fortunate that we live in an area where people still know their neighbors and care.”

In an effort to give back to the community and to show their appreciation, Echo and Jonathan held an open house on Thanksgiving Day, inviting everyone and anyone to stop in, say hi and enjoy turkey and other goodies.

‘Each day is a new day’

Today, nearly four months after her stroke, Echo said she’s still recovering, gaining strength and coordination.

“Each day is a new day,” she said. “I’m getting better and stronger, but (there’s) still a long road ahead.”

Loved ones have also reflected on Echo’s journey, commending her resilience.

“She shows people that even when life blindsides you, even when your world flips upside down in a single moment, you can still rise,” Jay said. “You can still become someone even stronger than before.”

Lois believes that if anyone has determination, it’s her daughter-in-law. “She’s determined to go back to work and be her old self again.”

From week to week, Larry said he can see his daughter’s progress. He has “no doubt” that she will regain strength.

“Give up is not in our vocabulary,” he said. “We may lose, but we go down fighting.”

As Echo works on her health and wellness, she wants people to “realize even if someone looks OK, that doesn’t mean they are OK.”

“Overcoming things like a stroke is difficult, and the public makes it more difficult,” she said.

Regardless, she refuses to let her stroke “reframe my life.”

The Yoder file

Name: Echo Yoder

Parents: Larry and Tammy Kincaid

Age: 31

Education: 2012 PA Cyber Charter School graduate; 2014 Penn Highlands Community College graduate with an associate’s degree in criminal justice.

Occupation: Co-owner/operator of Echo Springs Farm

Family: Husband, Jonathan; three children: Frances Susan, 5, Mark Sawyer, 3, and Opal Sophia, 1