Marie Snider
Obituary
Marie Snider, 89, died at home in North
Newton, Kansas, on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016.
A writer throughout her life, Marie
inspired and empowered thousands of readers with her syndicated
column "This Side of 60" for the past 24 years.
She was born to Nicholas and Dorothy
(Moser) Gingerich on August 9, 1927, in New Bremen, New York. Brother
Jim was born five years later.
At the age of 4, Marie entered first
grade in a one-room schoolhouse next door to the family farm on Route
12 in Lewis County.
After graduating from Lowville Free
Academy at the age of 14, Marie attended Eastern Mennonite and Goshen
colleges. She taught for several years at a one-room school in
Lowville and at Rockway Mennonite School in Kitchener, Ontario.
Returning to Goshen Seminary to earn a
master's degree in religious education, she met Howard Snider from
Guernsey, Saskatchewan. They were married at New Bremen Mennonite
Church in Lowville, New York, on Nov. 27, 1954. Howard died on August
2, 2015.
In 1957, the Sniders moved to Edmonton,
Alberta. Vada was born in 1958 and Conrad in 1962. During the
Edmonton years, Marie focused all of her energy on family, building a
strong social world and organizing countless parties and picnics.
In the mid-1960s, Howard accepted a
faculty position at Bethel College and the family moved to North
Newton.
Marie began working at Prairie View
Mental Health Center in 1967. Throughout the years her role expanded
and, when she retired in 1991, she was director of communications and
had a staff of five in her department.
The 1970s and 1980s were a period of
great professional growth.
In 1976, Marie edited the booklet
"Media and Terrorism: The Psychological Impact," which was
later reprinted in its entirety in the report of the United States
House of Representatives subcommittee on Media and Terrorism.
She won numerous national awards for
healthcare communications, including the prestigious MacEachern Award
from the Association of Hospital Public Relations.
In her 50s, Marie returned to school
again. This time earning a master's degree in communications from
Kansas State University. Her master's thesis, titled "Sex Roles
in the Comic Strips – a Historical Perspective, 1896-1979,"
led to dozens of speaking engagements. And in 1980, she was invited
to appear as "the real Marie Snider" on the television show
"To Tell the Truth."
She presented workshops at the National
Council of Community Mental Health Centers conferences. At the 1982
New York conference, Marie was voted one of the top six of more than
300 presenters.
Public service included: board of
Health Systems Agency of Southeastern Kansas; communications advisory
board for the General Conference Mennonite Church of North America;
and North Newton City Council.
After retiring from Prairie View, Marie
began writing "This Side of 60." The column was syndicated
and at one point appeared in more than 70 newspapers across the
United States and Canada. Intellectually active throughout her life,
she wrote the final column only 10 weeks before her death.
Throughout her life, Marie thrived on
friendship. She treasured long-term friends and was continually
making new friends, right to the end.
She loved: Playing games – bridge,
mah jongg, Rook, dominos; Working on the computer late at night;
Square dancing; Spending time in the Colorado mountains with family;
Attending theatre productions and watching old movies; Encouraging
and following her children's activities; Exercising in various ways
that adapted as her abilities changed; and Having endless coffees and
conversations in the living room.
Marie is survived by daughter Vada, son
Conrad (Diane Sorensen) and 4-legged George of North Newton; brother
Jim (Roberta) Gingerich, Moundridge, Kansas; nieces Lynette (James)
Allen, Moundridge, and Kara (Dean) Revel, Miltonvale, Kansas; nephew
Darwin (Jodi) Gingerich, Moundridge; great nieces and nephews;
Boshart, Widrick, Moser and Gingerich cousins in eastern United
States; sister-in-law Agnes Snider, Weber and Snider nieces and
nephews in Canada.
Celebration of Life service at 4 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 15, at Bethel College Mennonite Church, 2600 College
Ave., North Newton.
Memorials may be made to Bethel College
Mennonite Church; to the Howard Snider Scholarship Fund at Bethel
College; or to Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice. In care of Petersen
Funeral Home, 215 N. Main Street, Newton, KS, 67114.