- Date Of Birth: April 19, 1922
- Date Of Death: January 21, 2019
- State: Texas
Charles Winford Snyder, Sr., April 19, 1922 – January 21, 2019.
Charles Winford Snyder Sr., son, husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather went Home to join his Heavenly Father on January 21, 2019. Dedicated to serving God, his wife, children, family, friends and church community, Charles’ life demonstrated how to live from the heart with steadfast faithfulness.
Charles Snyder was born on April 19, 1922 to John and Estelle Haddox Snyder in a small log cabin north of Okemah, Oklahoma. He grew up in western Oklahoma with four brothers, and one sister. When he was 15 his family moved to the Texas panhandle. As a young man and throughout his life, Charles had a servant’s heart and lived according to the commandment to honor thy father and thy mother.
A few years later, the bombing of Pearl Harbor influenced Charles to enlist in the U.S. Army on March 4, 1942 at the age of 19. His service during World War II included tours in North Africa and Italy. Charles was enlisted for over 1100 days overseas with more than 900 days in combat. He received an EAME Campaign Medal with five Bronze Stars earned for five major battles – the Tunisian Campaign, the Naples-Foggia, the Rome-Arno, the North Apennines and the Po Valley conflicts. Charles earned a battlefield promotion after being the only soldier remaining who refused to abandon his post, while it was under fire. As a young enlisted among mostly draftees, Charles was often picked on by his older peers, giving him the nickname of “Slick” since he didn’t have to shave daily. By the time he was honorably discharged in September of 1945, Charles had achieved the rank of Sergeant in charge of cruise operating self-propelled automatic weapons. When recalling his time in the Army, he would often joke, “They used to call me Slick, but by the end, they called me Sergeant”. He attributed his survival based on his mother’s daily prayers. Charles was a proud veteran and continued to attend special military events proudly wearing his Eisenhower jacket into his nineties.
Upon his return from the war, he was introduced at his family’s church services to his sweetheart to be, Dorothy Johnson. When one of Charles’ brothers found he was interested in Dorothy, he said, “He’s going to marry that girl!” Charles and Dorothy soon found that they were indeed perfectly matched and married on January 31, 1948. The romance continued for another 67 years and beyond. Their work ethic and spiritedness was embodied throughout their lives as they built a solid marriage and beautiful family that includes their four children, Clifford Wayne, Linda Kay, Elsie Estelle and Charles Winford, Jr.
Charles had a strong work ethic that began when he was a child. His first job was tending to cotton fields where he earned money to help support his family during the Great Depression. He had a competitive spirit and put it to work. He set a goal to pick 1,000 pounds of cotton in one day. On his best day, he picked 960 pounds, beating out a family of three that were combining the weight of their loads in an attempt to beat him. When asked what prevented him from reaching his goal, he proudly said, “The sun went down.” Charles went on to work as a pecan orchard farmer, cantaloupe crate stacker, and filling station co-owner before he was inspired to work for himself as a paint contractor. He built his first house in Nocona, Texas in 1952. Soon after starting their family, they moved to Marshall, Texas so that he and Dorothy could both attend East Texas Baptist University. Charles and Dorothy continued their education while both working and supporting a family. His children observed his hard work and attention to his studies often recalling him floating drywall and painting houses with his notes hanging around his neck. He graduated in 1959 with his Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies. Charles became an ordained Baptist minister and preached at the First Baptist Church Mission in Jefferson and served as a substitute pastor locally. Once his studies were completed, Charles also established his home building company, Classic Homes by Charles Snyder. He went on to construct more than one-hundred of his classic homes in and around Marshall, Texas between the years of 1955 and 1997.
Charles was a member of Central Baptist Church for 60 years and enjoyed activities and time spent with his Sunday School Class, special events and travels with the WOO (Wise Old Owls) Club at Central Baptist.
Charles was able to travel to Hawaii multiple times, where he visited Pearl Harbor with his wife and family and later, attended his eldest granddaughter’s wedding on Maui. An adventurer at heart, he decided to parasail in the Pacific Ocean while he was there! Charles loved time spent with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren traveling to Six-Flags and Disneyland to ride rollercoasters together. Ever the encourager, at 94, he made a special trip to cheer on his granddaughter and great-granddaughter as they ran in the Orange County Marathon in California. Charles was able to take road trips to Colorado, New Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma and South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore. He enjoyed being out on the road, though surely driving a bit slower than in his younger years! Charles had the honor of attending the Inaugural Ceremonies for President George W. Bush in Washington D.C. where he and his family went on a private tour of both the White House and the Pentagon. Charles undertook another adventure later in life by moving to Temple, Texas, where he enjoyed spending time with family dining out, watching the Cowboys and hosting them at his apartment. He loved to make his youngest family members smile by showing them how he could still tap dance at 96. Charles leaves a legacy that reminds us to embrace life with joy and to lead with our hearts.
He was very proud to have four children, four grandchildren and four great grandchildren and created many special memories with each of them. He always had an ear to lend, a hand to shake, a hug to comfort with and an encouraging word to offer. Charles is survived by his son Clifford Wayne Snyder, daughter Linda Kay and her husband Don Al Ringler, daughter Elsie Estelle Parker, and son Charles (Chuck) Winford Snyder Jr. and his wife Dena, grandchildren Rachel and her husband Chad Stoller, Cecilia and her husband David Pellouchoud, Don Al (Donnie) Ringler, Jr., and his granddaughter, Annelise Dorothy Snyder, and great-grandchildren Thomas Charles Stoller, Devin Sloane Stoller, Lila Moon Pellouchoud and Novi Sky Pellouchoud. Charles was excited about welcoming Danielle Rutherford into the family soon as Donnie’s wife.
His family would like to thank the countless people that have provided his care, Belinda Nowlin Anderson and Anita Lindley of Marshall, Texas, as well as the staff at the Meridian and Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in Temple, Texas.
