Donna was born in Lexington, Nebraska on June 25, 1942 to parents Roy Gerald Chadwick and Nettie Helen Chadwick. Donna was the only girl in the family and she grew up in Lexington along with her three brothers, Roy, Francis and Larry Chadwick. They also lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado for a short time. Donna is survived by her three children William (Bill) Robert Snyder III, Jean Stidman, and Victoria Fesler, 16 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.
As a young girl Donna lived during the great snow storm of 1949 and even built an igloo at her grandpa’s farm. She delivered newspapers for the Kearney Hub, which as it turns out so did her future husband William Robert (Bob) Snyder Jr. As adults they discovered they met for the first time at a newspaper carrier picnic in Kearney Nebraska in 1952. As a pre-teen she met Bob again when he worked at her mother’s bakery. She always said she didn’t like him then because he was focused on working and she was focused on throwing dough balls! As fate would have it, after her graduation from high school she moved to Bertrand, Nebraska in 1960 where Bob was working at her brother’s automotive shop. After one week of dating, they were “going steady”. Then after three weeks Bob proposed and they were married on September 24, 1960. They celebrated 56 years of marriage before Bob passed away in 2017.
As a young couple Bob & Donna lived in Lincoln, Nebraska then in 1969 they moved to Sacramento California. In 1983 they moved to Omo Ranch, California where they built a solar home from a do-it yourself kit and then finally settled in El Dorado, California in 1995 until their deaths.
As a young mother she attended college at America River College and earned the academic honor of being on the Dean’s List and her AA degree in 1975. She continued her education at California State University at Sacramento and obtained her bachelor’s degree in Recreation Administration in 1977 which she used to get a position with the Tierra Del Oro Girl Scout council. Her joy of being a Girl Scout and her love for the outdoors made this job perfect for her for 13 years. Even in retirement her passion for Girl Scouts continued as she collected Girl Scout memorabilia and was instrumental in starting a museum and a Victorian Tea for the local Girl Scout council. Donna was an active Girl Scout from the age of 9 until her death at age 80.
Donna also enjoyed the outdoors, sewing, knitting, silk screening, architecture design, Motorcar Operating (rail car riding), researching her family history and operating an automotive shop with Bob. Her and Bob were leaders in Girl & Boy Scouts and put many volunteer hours to help others enjoy the outdoors and riding the rails. Donna was one of the first women to own a railcar with the Motorcar Operators West Club. During her lifetime Donna took many trips across the country by car and rails with family or friends as well as by herself to some amazing places including Yosemite, Yellowstone, Canada, Alaska, and Europe in 2007. She was a faithful fan of the Nebraska Cornhusker’s football as well as the Oakland A’s. Donna was an amazing cook and loved trying and sharing new recipes.
Please come and celebrate her life with us on Saturday August 13, 2022 at the Diamond Springs/El Dorado Firefighters Association Memory Hall at 3734 China Garden Road in Diamond Springs, California from 2pm to 4pm. We will be sharing memories of her and will be serving her favorite dessert of ice cream.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.chapelofthepinesfunerals.com for the SNYDER family.
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