Dolores Helen (Holeva) Snyder, known affectionately as "Dee" and "Grammy Dee," passed away at the age of 91 on December 9, 2022, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Mt. Vernon, Missouri.

Dolores was born on January 16, 1931, to Andrew and Helen (Przybylo) Holeva. She was raised in Schenectady, New York and graduated from Mont Pleasant High School in 1949. Dolores enlisted in the United States Navy as a WAVE (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in 1951 and was sent to Imperial Beach, California for training at the U.S. Naval Radio Station. She graduated in 1952 and was sent to Washington DC for a year, then to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1953.

On her first day in Hawaii, Dolores met Naval Communications Technician, Donald Gene Snyder, on only his second day there. Tropical romance ensued and they were married in October of 1954. Dolores was honorably discharged from the Navy in January 1955 and the first of their four children, Lizabeth Ann, was born in August 1955. Don's discharge followed shortly thereafter and the family settled in Clinton, Missouri, Don's hometown. Glenna Marie, Donald Gene, Jr., and Douglas Andrew were all born in Clinton.

Dolores worked at various jobs while raising her four children in the small towns where Don taught and coached, but she was always drawn to civil service, working for the FAA at Diamond Head in Hawaii when the family lived there for a year from 1966-1967. After her divorce from Don in 1976, Dolores worked for the VA in purchasing. She was continually promoted and unafraid to relocate, which took her from the Midwest to the East Coast, absorbing the culture wherever she landed. Dolores was independent and loved to learn, taking college courses while her work took her across the United States. She learned to ski at the age of 55 and took ski trips all over the U.S. and Austria. Dolores was proud of serving her country in the WAVES and as a civil servant, and was also proud of her Polish heritage and New England roots. She could knit and sew and made clothing for herself and her two daughters. Dolores was fun loving and fun to be around and will be greatly missed by her children, family, friends, and caregivers.

Dolores is survived by her sister, Jeanette Holeva; her daughter Lizabeth Ann and her husband Tim Rotert; her daughter Glenna Marie and her husband John Fleeman; her son Donald Gene Snyder, Jr. and his wife Pam; her son Douglas Andrew Snyder and his wife Lana; eight grandchildren; and thirteen great-grandchildren.

Although Dolores did not want a formal funeral service, she always loved a "Big Family Bar-B-Que," so her children will throw one at a later date in her honor, following a traditional military flag ceremony.

The family suggests that memorial donations in honor of Dolores be made to the MVH Assistance League , P.O. Box 149, Mt. Vernon, MO 65712 or by telephone at (417) 366-6039.