Obituary of Otty Verhoogh Snyder

Otty Snyder was born on March 27, 1928, in Schiebroek, Holland, the first child of Maria Ottilie (Baumeister) and Johannes R. Verhoogh. Her father ran an import business, mostly in grains.  Early on, Otty attended a German school, and became proficient in German, English, and French, in addition to Dutch. Later, the family moved to Rotterdam.  During World War II, both she and her father assisted the underground resistance effort, sheltering foreign soldiers and partisans from Nazi searches.

After the war, Otty returned to school—a business school—but because of her language proficiency, she was recruited to serve as assistant to the Dutch ambassador to the United States.  She came to the U.S. (Washington D.C.) at the age of 21. There she met Glenn Herald Snyder, a Washington correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, and they married in January 1951.  The couple then moved to New York City for Glenn to pursue his Ph.D. in Political Science at Columbia University.  They moved every two or three years, for better faculty appointments:  Wesleyan (Conn.), Princeton (N.J.), Denver (Colo.), Berkeley (CA), and then to Buffalo (NY), where she and Glenn raised their three children, born four or five years apart in different states. They were able to enjoy sabbatical years abroad (first in Leiden, Holland, then in Oxford, England) and traveled extensively throughout Europe.

In 1984, Otty moved to Chapel Hill, when Glenn was recruited to join the UNC faculty.  The couple lived on Grey Bluff Trail and then Morgan Creek Road, before moving into the Carol Woods retirement community in 2000.  Otty quickly became involved in numerous activities at Carol Woods, most notably the community’s thrift store and sewing service. She also worked in the gift shop and served as a new resident advisor. Outside of Carol Woods, Otty was active in the local shelter for more than twenty years, preparing meals for the homeless. She was a longtime member of the American Society of Friends (Quakers).

Otty will be remembered for her creations (woven wall hangings and purses, and the caftans she loved to wear), her love of reading and multilingual scrabble, wine and cheese, and her devotion to her plants.

She is survived by her children: Abigail Snyder-Keller (Richard Keller, Voorheesville, NY), Jared Snyder (Cathy Hill, Saratoga, NY), and Adam Snyder (Alison Moliterno, Baltimore, MD), and grandchildren Benjamin Keller (Cameron, Raleigh, NC), Zachary Keller (Philadelphia, PA), Caleb Snyder (Troy, NY), Aidan Snyder (NYC), Ethan Snyder (NYC), Will Snyder (Baltimore, MD), and Natalie Snyder (Washington DC). In her last years she enjoyed the frequent visits of her only great-grandchild, Jack Keller. Otty is predeceased by her husband, Glenn, and her sister and only sibling, Hetty Hoornweg (Ontario, Canada).

A remembrance of Otty’s life will be held on Sunday, October 13, at 2:30 p.m., at the Carol Woods retirement community, located at 750 Weaver Dairy Road in Chapel Hill.  In lieu of flowers, the family asks that those wishing to memorialize Otty’s passing make a donation to Doctors Without Borders:  https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/