- Date Of Birth: 1928
- Date Of Death: 2019
- State: Minnesota
Obituary of Audrey E. Snyder
Audrey Elaine Oberst Snyder was born July 6, 1928 to Arthur and Gladys Oberst in Stevens Point Wisconsin. She was their second daughter. Her sister, Virginia, was seven years her senior. Her family moved around a few times because her dad was an Army Air Force officer. Audrey spent part of her childhood in South Carolina and then in International Falls Minnesota. Her parents moved to St. Paul as Arthur retired from the army. Audrey attended Brenau College in Gainesville, Georgia then came back to St. Paul and attended Macalester College. She lived at 1440 Goodrich with her parents and walked three blocks to Macalester. One day Donald Snyder who also lived on Goodrich Ave noticed a beautiful tall girl walking by his house. Don who just got out of the Navy during World War II was attending Macalester also. The next day he waited for her to walk by and ran to catch up to her. They dated for four years. After Macalester, Audrey went to medical technology training at St. Mary’s in Minneapolis. Don and Audrey were married in 1951 at House of Hope Church in St. Paul. She worked for a doctor in downtown St. Paul and Don worked at 3M company. They lived in a couple of apartments before buying their first house also on Goodrich Avenue. Their first daughter, Susan, was two years old by then and Audrey was pregnant with their second daughter, Barbara. One year later their son Richard was born. Audrey was a stay at home mother raising her family.
Don and Audrey were one of the first to bring waterskiing to Minnesota. They enjoyed their early years on the St Croix in their boat, even putting on water ski shows. Around 1966 they became interested in hot air ballooning. They spent many years in the Winter Carnival hot air balloon race and putting on demonstrations at county fairs all over the Midwest. They even did a halftime show at the Viking football game in the old Met Stadium in 1969. Later they took up antiquing. They enjoyed Friday nights at the auctions. They would restore furniture and sometimes resell it in their famous biannual garage sales. Dealers would line up to get first pickings of their treasures.
They lived in the same home on Goodrich Ave for 53 years. When Don got sick, they moved into an apartment and Don passed away a couple weeks later. Audrey lived on her own in that apartment from 2007 to 2018. She bought a new car when she was 89 years old. She lost her daughter Barbara in October 2018. She moved to an assisted living apartment shortly after. Audrey was a strong woman who liked to take care of herself and didn’t want help from others. She was set back when she fell and fractured her hip and had to be in a wheelchair. She was still able to take care of herself. She lived a good life! She is survived by daughter, Susan Michals and husband, Stephen; son, Richard and wife, Cheryl; eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Preceded in death by Donald (2007) and daughter, Barbara in 2018.
