Services for Hyla Snider, the wife of R. Wayne Snider, long-time history professor at Grace College, will be held Friday, September 12, at the Winona Lake (Ind.) Grace Brethren Church (Bruce Barlow, lead pastor). She died Sunday, September 7. Her complete obituary, along with service and visitation information appears below.
Hyla Mae Snider of Grace Village Retirement Community, Winona Lake, Indiana passed away at 12:58 p.m. on Sunday, September 7, 2014 at Grace Village Health Care at the age of 77. She passed from this life into the loving arms of her Savior, whom she loved and served for a lifetime.
She was born on July 31, 1937 in Wooster, Ohio, to Harry R. Palmer and Halcyon (Overholt) Palmer. She spent her years growing up in Wooster and attending school there. In 1955 she left Wooster to attend Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana. It was there that she met her husband Robert Wayne Snider, who also happened to be one of her professors. They were married on August 15, 1959, on the college campus, and celebrated 55 years of marriage together. Her husband Wayne survives in Winona Lake. She had been a resident of Kosciusko County, Ind., for the past 59 years.
Hyla taught second grade at Milford Elementary School in Milford, Ind., and was a popular teacher there. She left teaching to raise her three daughters. Later she returned to work as the campus post office supervisor at Grace College in Winona Lake. She loved meeting new students each year as they came to the college where she arrived as a freshman many years before.
She was very involved in many ministries at Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, including the children’s ministry where she served for more than 20 years, and she also made a difference in her community. Hyla always marveled in the beauty of the Lord’s creation and especially loved a bright sunny day! She was well known for her gift of hospitality and her incredible talent in creating beautiful cakes. Many people celebrated weddings, birthdays and other special events with one her beautiful cakes. Besides these talents, Hyla will be remembered for her smile and her kind words for those she met. She loved taking care of others and creating joy…her light will be missed.
She will be lovingly remembered by her husband: R. Wayne Snider (Winona Lake, Ind.); three daughters: Lisa (husband David) Floyd (Franklin Lakes, N.J.); Jackie Snider (Warsaw, Ind.); Jennifer “Jen” Snider (Pierceton, Ind.); two grandchildren: Vanessa Floyd (Arlington, Va.); Alex Floyd (Charlotte, N.C.); four nieces and six nephews. She also leaves behind her sister: Alice (husband Ross) Miller (Dalton, Ohio); sister-in-law: Alice (husband Charles) Koontz (Winona Lake, Ind.); and brother-in-law: David (wife Audra) Snider (Martinsburg, Pa.). She was preceded in death by her parents.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, September 11, 2014 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at Redpath-Fruth Funeral Home, 225 Argonne Road, Warsaw, Ind.
A memorial service celebrating Hyla’s life will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, September 12, 2014, at Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, 1200 Kings Highway, Winona Lake, Ind., and officiated by Pastor Kip Cone and assisted by Chaplain Bryan Benjamin.
A private family graveside service will be held with burial at Oakwood Cemetery, Warsaw, Ind.
A special scholarship fund for Grace College Students majoring in Elementary Education has been established in Hyla’s name. Memorial donations may be directed to Grace College, Attn: Andrew Flamm, 200 Seminary Drive, Winona Lake, IN, 46590 and would be greatly appreciated by her family.