(From Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home)
Virginia Snyder, a month shy of her 99th birthday, passed away on the 25th of November 2024, in Springfield, Missouri.
Virginia was born December 27, 1925, in Lawrenceburg, Missouri, the daughter of Freddie Glen Snyder and Lorene (Adamson) Snyder. She was saved at the age of twelve in Lawrenceburg Methodist Church in response to the preaching of the Gospel of God by Rev. Ralph Turner. She was baptized in Turnback Creek.
Virginia graduated from Ash Grove High School in 1943 and began teaching in a one-room school at the age of seventeen on the condition she would attend college during the summers. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Southwest Missouri State College in Springfield in 1954. She obtained her master’s degree in education and administration from Drury College in Springfield, in 1961.
Virginia had no children of her own but was a teacher of many. She taught a total of 42 years - eleven in a one-room school (Union Hall, Onward and Halltown) in Lawrence County. She taught 31 years at Westport Elementary School in Springfield. Virginia loved teaching and she loved her students. Her students remember Virginia as a kind, loving, and understanding teacher, and when they would come back to see her, they always warmed her heart.
Virginia retired from teaching in 1986 to help take care of her mother, Lorene, until her passing on January 15, 1993. Her father passed away with a massive heart attack on July 10, 1974. Her only brother, Freddie Glen Jr. passed away on March 27, 1998. After Virginia’s mother passed, she decided to fulfill her father's dream and her dream - that of building a Music Park on the family farm for people to enjoy. Virginia was always a determined person and always had goals to work toward throughout her life. She wanted to contribute something to society in the later years of her life. Virginia always worked hard and always did her best in teaching, relationships with friends and family and towards her Music Park dream. Many people enjoyed the Music Park events: Fiddlers' Jams, Bluegrass Festivals, and her favorite, the Folk, and Gospel Music Festivals.
Virginia had a deep love for her heritage. She restored the "Little Moore School," which her mother and her mother’s family all attended with many friends in the community. The “Little Moore School” to this day sits on a little hill overlooking the Music Park. After the restoration, Virginia was known to say that "The Little Moore School is happy now because it is needed. The school can hear children’s voices again as they come to visit her, and she knows she will have an influence on the lives of all of her visitors for a long, long time."
Virginia wrote and published a book, Virginia's Song, A Country Quilt of Memories. The book is about growing up in the Ozarks; the people, music, and the places she knew and loved. She also wrote and published her second book “Books, Pies and Spelling Bees” the story of The One Room Country School in The Ozarks, like the one she attended for eight years and taught in for eleven. She spoke often of her hope that there will be those who will never let this legacy die. Virginia passionately believed that the one room school was a vital part of the foundation and growth of America!
Teaching children was Virginia's first love and music was her second. She sang in different groups: The Over the Hill Gang, The Bluegrass Belles, Ozark Traveler's Gospel Quartet, The Sweet Nothings, Music of Yesteryear, County Connections, Turnback Creek and The Silvertones. Along with the heritage of the one room school, Virginia hopes that someone will continue her dream of promoting the heritage of the old-time music of yesteryear.
Virginia served on the Southwest Missouri State University's Ozark Studies Institute Advisory Committee, which was formed to preserve the heritage of the Ozarks - its culture, environment and history - by helping people understand the places, traditions and people of the area. In July of 2007, Virginia was awarded The National DAR Preservation Medal and Certificate for Outstanding Service to the Southwest Missouri Community for her writing and lectures on keeping alive a time lost in history. A gold medal and certificate were presented by the Elk Horn Prairie Chapter of the National Society of The Daughters of the American Revolution. Virginia was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star at Ash Grove, Missouri. She was also a member of the Epsilon Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International in Springfield.
Virginia would like to take the opportunity in this obituary to express her love and gratitude for the kindness and helpfulness shown to her by so many friends. Virginia's Motto was, "I tried.” Her father taught her to pursue life with passion. He always said, “One person with a dream is equal to ninety-nine people who only have an interest.” Virginia pursued life with passion. She followed her dream. She is now singing in harmony with her father in heaven.
Virginia is survived by her cousins, Carey Lee Snyder Hyatt of Scottsdale, Arizona, Eva Hadsell of Ozark, Missouri, Linda Ruark of Everton, Missouri, and a host of friends, including especially, Leila Wilkerson of Clever, Missouri.
A visitation will be held from 10:00-11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 30, 2024, at Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon, Missouri with a funeral service to follow at 11:00 a.m. in the funeral home chapel. Burial will follow at the Dunkle Cemetery.
Online condolences may be shared at www.FossettMosherFuneralHome.com.
