In Memory of Courtney F. Snyder, My Grandma

Sunday morning we learned that Grandma Courtney passed away. We've been anticipating this for a while now, especially within the last week, but when it actually comes, it's still hard to handle. She had been in a nursing home for about 3 years, and after Grandpa passed away in November, her health steadily declined. I guess that's only natural after 72 years of marriage!

Courtney Snyder, my namesake, was 96 and definitely lived a very full life. She spent the majority of her life in Ohio and enjoyed some of her childhood years in Washington, D.C. when her father worked closely with President Harding, a long-time family friend. Grandma told stories of how her dad would play poker with Harding and the boys, and how she and her family would have picnics on the White House lawn. What fun that would have been!

Grandma grew up playing tennis and was apparently quite the player. She even used a real cat-gut racket. She gave it to me about 13 years ago and I hope to put it on display in our new house.

Grandma was also a wonderful poet, wordsmith and "Grammar Queen," in my book. Whether we liked it or not, she was always on the look out for proper word usage, and thankfully, some of that rubbed off on me and aided in my love for writing and proper grammar use. (I'm not sure what happened to that grammar in my speech sometimes ... but that's another story.) Thanks Grandma!

Come to think about it, Grandma was actually very skilled in many things, even as she aged. She was quite the shark with a hand of cards, Bridge in particular, and she played the organ so beautifully! Birdwatching was a dear passion of hers and you might have even called her a "hummer-charmer". She would take the hummingbird nectar that she would make and stand in the bushes as she held it and the hummingbirds would come right up to her and eat. She helped me do it once and it was very cool! And I believe on one occasion she even nurses one back to health. A baby had broken its wing or something like that, and she made it a little nest in a box and fed it with a syringe until it was healthy enough to return to the wild.

She was even quite a good cook and baker. Mom recently passed down her infamous chocolate cake recipe and gooey chocolate/pecan icing ... emm, so delicious. (But gracious, it definitely wasn't easy to get a hold of that recipe ... I think mom only got it in like 1995 or something like that!) But the meatloaf that I make is her recipe, as well as her peanut butter cookies, cut-out cookies and I'm sure there are many more. The thought about compiling her recipes into a cookbook has crossed my mind ... hopefully if I have time one of these days, I can begin that project.

And wow, Grandma really enjoyed traveling. She did most of it alone, later in life either because of Grandpa's OB/GYN practice or because of Grandpa's bad back, but I believe that she traveled to China on several occasions and brought back all kinds of beautiful memorabilia that decorated their home.

I'm sure that I could go on and on, but when I really think about it, some of the fondest memories I have with Grandma (aside from taking showers with her when I was a little girl and getting to use her scrub brush, and shrieking when Grandpa would "sneak" in and pour cold water on us ... time and time again) were the times late at night, right before bed, when she'd thumb through old pictures or trinkets or jewelry, and share the stories that went with each item. She spoke so sweetly about her life and about her love for Grandpa and her family. Thanks for such sweet memories, Grandma! I love you. I miss you. And I'm so glad that you had the opportunity to meet Caedmon last December. How you lite up when you held him and saw him smile!

In Memory of Lloyd A. Hottel, My Pop

Wow, this has been a tough few months, I just wrote one of these back in November when Grandpa Snyder passed away. It's interesting how so many life-changing events take place all at once. Thank the Lord that I'm not alone in this -- God is mighty to comfort, gentle in the way that He brings peace, and how His Holy Spirit whispers sweet words of truth when we don't know what end is up!

For those of you that have been following this blog, you know that Pop has been battling infection and pneumonia for the past month and has battled Alzheimer's for the past 4+ years. (What a terrible disease that is!!! To think that every ounce of brainpower that someone acquires throughout a lifetime can be taken way in the matter of a few years ... and just leaves them helpless! For any of you that have seen this terrible disease, my heart goes out to you! Let's pray for a cure!)

After a long hard road, Pop ended his battle Friday morning, February 27. The nurses called my Dad to let him know that the end was near and he was able to have Grandma head over to the hospital before he passed. (Dad was in Atlanta at the time.) She got there in just enough time to sit by his side, hold his hand and comfort him before his heart stopped. What a blessing ... that after 58 years of marriage, she was able to be with him for his last few moments. But thank the Lord that he went as he did and Dad and Grandma didn't have to make any decisions about whether or not to "pull the plug." And now, Pop no longer has to live in constant confusion and pain!

At 90, Pop lived a good life. He was married to a wonderful woman that we affectionately know as Grandma Franny -- some of which call her Fanny, he he he. (He "picked her up" in a restaurant where she worked when she first came to this country from Yugoslavia ... she worked there to learn English.) He served in WWII and raised a great son, who later became my Dad, and drove many miles of road with Greyhound bus -- boy did he love to drive! He later became my "Pop" and affectionately called me his "Peashy." (I'm not sure what that means, but that's what he called me :). And to this day, I'll never think of the Little Debbie Nutty Bars the same because of him. That was his favorite cookie and for some reason, even though I could read, I always thought they were called "Pop's cookies." It must have been their "secret" name that only Pop and I knew. My friends growing up never knew what I was talking about and I would be like, "You know, Pop's cookies," and they'd be like, "um, Nutty Bars?" I just thought THEY were confused.

Thanks Pop, I'll always hold Nutty Bars close to my heart :). I love you Pop, you will be missed!!

A memorial service will be held for him on Wednesday in Cleveland. We're all heading up to Ohio tomorrow. (This will be Caedmon's 2nd plane trip.) Pop will then be buried at the National Cemetary in Marietta, GA, close to my Dad and where Grandma will be living in 2 weeks.

In Memory of Donald C. Snyder, My Grandpa

We got a call last Sunday morning from my mom and she said that my Grandpa had passed away earlier that morning. At 98, he had been suffering from congestive heart failure for the majority of the year and had rough boughts of pneumonia along with it. But even in that, his mind remained sharp as ever, his humor was even more super-charged, and he continued his morning exercises and economy-following to the T. The funeral is set for Saturday, December 6 and as I prepare for this day of closure, I thought that I would compile a set of memories of his long and giving life. We love you Grandpa!

An Account From Akron University:
"Dr. Snyder was always inspired and motivated by his mother Jennie Lynn Smedley Snyder. Dr. Snyder became one of the Akron area’s most well respected physician-surgeons, recognized by colleagues for his many years of professional service and contributions in the field of medicine, published in scientific journals and listed in Who’s Who in the Midwest. Originally from Medina and a graduate of Case Western Reserve University, Dr. Snyder did his four-year residency at University Hospitals in Cleveland, coming to Akron in 1940. He became the catalyst for developing the first training program for young doctors in obstetrics/gynecology in Akron, preparing hundreds of doctors who became Board-certified in that specialty. With the over-crowded hospitals of the early 1950’s, Dr. Snyder was the first doctor to perform same-day surgery.

Dr. and Mrs. Snyder’s lifetime objective was the value of higher education and helping others."

Boys Will Be Boys:

Grandpa & His Hats:

Let's Dance!:












71 Years Together!: