Patricia A Snyder

Patricia A. Snyder, 66, a long-time resident of Tallahassee, died peacefully at home on March 22, 2015. Dr. Scott Tetreault and her close friend Dr. Estrellita Redmon had treated her for metastatic breast cancer since she had been diagnosed in August 2012.

Ms. Snyder was a descendant of Oklahoma pioneers and grew up in Batesville, Arkansas, where her father owned a general store. She was named the outstanding member of her high school graduating class and attended the University of Arkansas on a merit scholarship, graduating with honors in 1971.

She married into a military family and became a forceful advocate for the American Soldier and his family, serving as president of women's groups on American Army posts throughout the world. At Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in the mid-1980s she led a successful effort to save the nearly bankrupt post thrift store through her management skills and daily supervision. In 1991 during the First Gulf War, she was instrumental in the renovation and reopening of the American Children's Cemetery in Frankfurt, Germany, and served as the command liaison to Steuben-Schurz German-American Society. Later in the 1990s, she was the chairman of Heidelberg 2000, a project to raise the community Department of Defense School System to an American national school of excellence. During her nearly 30 years of community service, the Army recognized her with a number of prestigious awards for her support of Soldiers, including the Caroline Scott Harrison Award, the Commander’s Award for Community Service and the Army’s Outstanding Civilian Service Award.

Shortly after she and her husband moved to Tallahassee, she joined Chapter BA of PEO and remained active in its educational programs for women until her illness. She was inducted into Who's Who of Women in America for her support of the American Soldier.

Ms. Snyder is survived by her husband of 47 years, Brig. Gen. Neil N. Snyder III, their son, Lt. Col. Neil N. Snyder IV and his wife Laura of Fort Carson, Colorado; sister Margaret Wilson and her husband Don of Batesville, Arkansas; her sister-in-law Donna May of Greenwood, Arkansas; and goddaughter Lois Conroy of Conroy Farms, Tennessee. She was preceded in death by her brother, Lewis May. In addition to a large caring family, she was supported during her illness by six friends of a lifetime--her sister-in-law, Karen S. Buchan of Tulsa, Oklahoma; June Neer of Overland Park, Kansas; Sabine Bridges of Fairfax, Virginia; Marilyn MacLean of Lighthouse Point, Florida; Gwynne Allen of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Liddy Hall of Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Befitting her dedication to the American Soldier, she will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery as is her father-in-law, Colonel Neil N. Snyder Jr. Visitation will be at the Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home, Timberlane Road on Friday, March 27 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. In lieu of flowers Ms. Snyder's family requests friends consider a donation to The Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation's continuing efforts to cure breast cancer. (https://foundation.flcancer.com/donate/)