Tanua Rae Snyder

Tanua Rae Torbett Snyder, devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, died peacefully on January 12, 2024, at her home in Austin, Texas, at the age of 93. She was born in Houston on March 26, 1930, to John C. Torbett and Ella Louise Strickland Torbett and grew up in Port Arthur, Texas, where she lived most of her life.

Tanua was raised by a single mother during the Great Depression after her parents divorced when she was young. Life was not easy. Through life’s circumstances, she found herself on her own when she was in high school. She then met Anna Corbet, and they became fast friends. Anna knew that Tanua needed help, and she convinced her parents, Ann and Zeb Corbet, to have Tanua come live with them. Tanua always said that God sent people into her life when she needed them the most. This was a big turning point in her life, and it led her to college at North Texas State University, where she met the love of her life, Gerald Snyder. She and Gerald were married, and God blessed them with four children. Having a family – and being a family – was incredibly important to Tanua. She and Gerald were happily married for 63 years until his death in 2014. She moved to Austin in 2016, where she spent her final years.

Tanua’s Christian faith was very important to her. She and Gerald were married in the Methodist Temple in Port Arthur, and they were active members there for many, many years. Tanua taught 6th grade Sunday School for years and then later was a regular teacher of the adult Wesley Sunday School Class. In addition to Sunday mornings, they participated in pretty much every pancake supper, fish fry, covered dish event, and Sunday School gathering.

After her youngest child was diagnosed with diabetes when he was only five, it became clear to Tanua that the local medical community needed more and better education about diagnosing, treating, and caring for children with diabetes. So Tanua and a friend arranged for experts from Texas Medical Center Galveston to come speak on the subject to local doctors, school nurses, and other healthcare professionals. These education events were very well received and drew medical professionals from all around the area. As to her youngest child, he has now lived successfully with diabetes for almost 60 years.

Tanua was preceded in death by her husband, Gerald Snyder, by her parents, by her brothers, John Conrad Torbett and Gary Burl Torbett, by her son, Charles Edward Snyder. She is survived by three children, Jerrilee Snyder Meeker, Kent Lewis Snyder, and Mark Conrad Snyder; by eight grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren who knew her as “Granny Tanua.”

The family would like to extend its appreciation to the Clairmont Independent Living Facility, to Tanua’s caregivers at Pecan Ridge Memory Care, and to Valerian Hospice.

Tanua’s memorial service will be held at 1:00 PM on Saturday, January 27, at First United Methodist Church of Austin, with a reception to follow at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to Port Arthur Meals on Wheels organization at unitedmissions.org/meals-on-wheels.