Elizabeth Ann Snyder, known by all as Betty, was born on October 21, 1933, in Sparta, Wisconsin to Philip and LaVanche Murphy. She died of natural causes at the age of 88 on September 16, 2022, in her home in Emlenton, PA, with her husband, sons, daughters, and their spouses at her bedside.
Betty grew up in La Crosse, Wisconsin where she graduated from Aquinas Catholic High School in 1951. It is there she came to know her future husband and life-long companion Lowell T. Snyder. They married on July 31, 1954. They began their life together in La Crosse, welcoming their first daughter in 1955. Changes in employment over the next 15 years found them relocating every couple of years to communities across southern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota. With each move, another child was added. Their final move was to Emlenton, PA in 1970 with seven children and four St. Bernards in tow. As their children grew up and had families of their own, Betty often boasted of 23 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren. She loved, cherished, and nurtured each and every one of them.
(Betty Snyder in an earlier photo)
Betty was a busy contributor to many church and civic organizations. She was renowned for her God-given voice and musical talents. As a young adult, Betty was proud to have performed in USO productions in the La Crosse, WI area. She willingly shared her talent in local music civic productions and sang at many, possibly hundreds, of funerals, weddings, and holiday services of all denominations. If she wasn’t traveling across the country with her husband, she turned no one down when asked. She was devoted to singing the psalms and hymns at Sunday Mass at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Emlenton. Some would say she wasn’t just a member of the church choir, she was the choir.
If Betty got involved in an organization, things got done. She contributed her time and talents to her childrens’ high school clubs and teams, the Foxburg Country Club and golf course, the Emlenton Medical Corporation, the Emlenton Civic Club, and the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA).
She is survived by her husband of 68 years, Lowell T., daughters June Alice (Dale) Sprout of Great Falls, Montana; Helen (George) Kilgore of Butler, PA; Christina “Tina” (Gary) Zychowski of Emlenton, and sons Lowell Thomas “Tom” (Susan) Snyder and Bert Snyder, both of Emlenton; Leon (Gail) Snyder of Parker, PA; and 21 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by daughter Rozanna Beth Snyder, parents Philip and LaVanche Murphy, brothers Dean and Charles Murphy, and grandsons Seth Wike and Douglas Zychowski.
A Funeral Mass will be held at St Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Emlenton on Saturday, September 24. Viewing will be in St. Michael’s Church beginning at 9:00 am through 10:50 am, followed by Mass at 11:00 am and the Rite of Committal at the gravesite in St. Michael’s Cemetery in Emlenton. Following the burial service, the Altar Rosary Society will serve members of the Snyder family and Betty’s many friends in the St. Michael’s Church basement. Family members will then be hosted at the Snyder home in Emlenton for desserts and beverages after the luncheon.
The Snyder family wishes to thank the Gobel Funeral Home of Clarion, PA; St. Michael’s Altar Rosary Society, and Father Johnathan Schmolt, Pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Emlenton Area Ambulance, 511 Main Street, Emlenton, PA16373.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Goble Funeral Home in Clarion, PA. Visit https://www.goblefh.net to post online condolences and share your memory.