Lee E. Snyder

This post is in remembrance of our mom, grandmother, and friend, Lee Snyder, who passed away peacefully on October 9, 2024.

In 2018, Lee had a stroke that left her in a wheelchair, but she was determined to stay at home with her dogs, despite her family’s suggestions to move into assisted living. She was strong-willed, and once she made up her mind, there was no changing it. She successfully stayed in her home for over five years with the help of caregivers and family. Then, in April 2024, after being mistakenly overprescribed a medication at 10 times the intended dose, she had a fall and became bedridden.

The last few months were tough, including an evacuation from Big Bear due to fires, but her family was able to spend a lot of time with her before she passed away peacefully in an assisted living home in Big Bear, CA.

Lee was the mother of eight children—three of them are her biological kids: Harry Snyder (married to Jacque Snyder), Sandice Alaska (married to Kjrsten Haaland), and Eric Snyder (married to Emily Snyder). Later in life, Lee adopted five more children: Valencia, Venetia, Vallee, Valentino, and Valiant, all of whom are now grown and living on their own, with the youngest being 20. All of her children were able to be with her in her final days.

Lee was born in New Jersey to James Sandford and Ida Sandford and lived there until moving to Apple Valley, California, with her family in 1977. She was previously married to Harry Snyder, with whom she had three children. Harry Snyder passed away in 1996. She always made sure her kids were cared for and found ways to make life fun. She was a stay-at-home mom for most of her children’s childhood and often served as the “room mother” in elementary school classes, as well as president of the PTA. Other kids loved having her as their room mother. Later on, she worked as an emergency room nurse in Victorville and then as a kidney dialysis nurse.

In New Jersey, she and Harry built a big pool, which became the center of many great times for her kids. When they moved to California, she had another pool built, and after moving again later in life with her adopted children, she built yet another pool. She rarely used the pools herself—they were for her kids. She hosted countless birthday parties around the pool, and when she had her second group of children, she continued the tradition by adding a trampoline and hosting more birthday parties filled with fun. When she turned 80 in 2020, despite the Covid lockdowns, her family made sure to celebrate her with a big birthday party at her house.

Thanksgivings were special too—sometimes she’d hire a mariachi band to play at her house, along with a bouncy house and piñata for the kids and grandkids. In her honor, we’ll have a mariachi band to celebrate her life after the funeral.

She adored her grandkids and often spoke about them. She was always so proud of them.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Lee E. Snyder, please visit our floral store.