Sara Hoge Atkinson Snyder, 93, died peacefully at the Highlands in Topsham on Nov. 3.
Sally was born into a Quaker farm family in Wrightstown, Penn. on March 23, 1919. The second of four children of Beulah Elliott Atkinson and Robert Edward Atkinson, Sally weathered childhood health struggles to raise 4-H calves and thrive on country life.
She graduated from George School, Newtown, Penn. in 1937 and Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio in 1941. At Oberlin she met Richard Leigh Snyder and they were married at Wrightstown Friends Meetinghouse on June 18, 1941.
Sally worked while Dick attended graduate school and seminary in New York City. While Dick was serving a church in Doylestown, Penn., Sally gave birth to the first of their three children in 1944. Sally was the glue that bound the family together, raising three young children while Dick balanced service in the Navy Reserve with successive pastorates in Pennsylvania, Maine, New Jersey and Wisconsin. Subsequent moves took the family to Belmont, Mass., Westport, Conn., Fort Washington, Penn., Groveland, Mass. and Boylston, Mass.
Sally resumed work outside the home in the 1950s, and retired from her roles as teacher and social worker, helping mothers and their young children, in 1981. Throughout her married life she lived the role of minister’s wife with grace, wry wit, and patience.
Sally and Dick retired to Jefferson in 1981, taking up permanent residence in the farmhouse that had served as a summer place since 1946. Sally volunteered in the Jefferson schools, served as an officer of the state conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC) and with Kno-Wal-Lin Home Health Agency, and was active with the Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association, the Nature Conservancy and CONA. Sally and Dick were founding members of the Broad Bay Congregational, United Church of Christ, in Waldoboro. Sally actively participated in the life of the church until 2006, and especially enjoyed cards and visits from fellow members.
Sally was predeceased by her husband of 55 years in 1997; and siblings, Ellen (Franklin) Davenport, Anna Margaret (Samuel) Nicholson, and Edward Atkinson.
She is survived by her children, Bob Snyder (Beth) of Bryan, Ohio, Margi Snyder (Tom Bouchard) of Lisbon, and David Snyder (Deborah Roose) of Oberlin, Ohio; eight grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
Memorial service 3 p.m., Sat., Dec. 1 at the Broad Bay Congregational Church, UCC in Waldoboro.
Memorial donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made to Broad Bay Congregational Church, 941 Main St. (P.O. Box 161), Waldoboro, ME 04572 or the Alzheimer’s Association, Maine Chapter, 383 US Route One, Suite 2C, Scarborough, ME 04074.
