Donald “Duke” Snyder Sr. was born in Franklin, IN, to David and Laura Snyder (Tilson). He was raised on a 10-acre parcel of land, where he spent his youth helping his dad on the hobby farm with his two brothers, William “Bill” and Russell Snyder. He joined the Navy at 17, after cheating on his eye exam, and met his dear friend Tommy in comptroller academy. Sandra, Tommy’s sister, sent a letter with her photo while he was stationed, and Duke was smitten at first sight. After asking for Tommy’s permission to write to Sandra, they became pen pals over the summer, sending his own signed photograph in response. When the summer ended, she received a letter with four rings and a marriage proposal asking her to “pick one ring and keep the rest”. Soon after, they were wed, and their family grew with the birth of their three children; Brent, Donald Jr. and Suzanne. Duke served as a Vietnam Veteran in the Navy from 1958-1961. When his military service concluded, he worked over 30 years of his career as Mobil Refinery technician in Texas and Illinois. He was given the opportunity to move his family to New Zealand for a short time, where his expertise helped train refinery employees to work with cutting-edge synthetic fuel processing. He was a well-traveled man with a wide variety of interests across his lifetime; from racing stock cars (#22 Wile E. Coyote) to raising blue ribbon Dutch rabbits. He enjoyed playing golf when his health allowed and spent long hours playing Harvest Moon on the GameCube. He loved his community, dedicating a large part of his later life to his church family through prayer, gospel, and worship; with 40 children earning school sponsorship to attend FOFCA (Families of Faith Christian Academy). He was the #1 John Wayne fan, with his sitting room tokened by his family the “John Wayne” room, dedicated to the late actor. He was loved greatly and remembered fondly by everyone who knew him, but most importantly, by his family. He is survived by his wife, Sandra “Sandy” Snyder (Braquet), whom he was happily married to for over 65 years. He was a loving father to his children Brent (Cassie) Snyder, Donald Snyder Jr. and Suzanne (Steve) Jeziorski; grandfather to Zach (Taylor) Kern-Feeney, Tori (Orion) Davis, Ashley (Jerry) Redwine, Aaron (Joy) Feeney, Sam Jeziorski, and Will Jeziorski; great-grandfather to Sawyer, Bodhi, Rory, Emersyn, Easton, Lynleigh and LJ. He is preceded in death by his parents, Laura and David, and his two brothers, Billy and Russell.

Memorial services will be held on October 19th at 12:30pm following church services.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to Families of Faith Christian Academy for continuum of his legacy towards school sponsorships. 

Send to someone

Share this obituary with others

https://everloved.com/life-of/donald-snyder/obituary/

Copy