Memorial Service - Barbara & John Snyder - April 7, 2018

Memorial Service – Barbara Luella Spafford Snyder & John Darrell Snyder

Opening Music:
Amazing Grace - CD

Call to Worship:
You, O God, have been our dwelling place in all generations.  Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.  (Psalm 90:1-2)

Greeting:
We have come together this morning to praise God for the lives of John & Barbara Snyder;  to mourn our losses with one another, to console each other in our times of grief; to celebrate their lives and all that they meant to all that loved them; to celebrate God's love for John & Barbara, and His love for each of us; And to commend their souls to God's everlasting love and care.

Prayer:
Dear God, You are the Creator.  You are the author of life. You are the Father of all mercies and God of all consolation, you pursue us with untiring love
and dispel the shadow of death with the bright dawn of life. Give courage to this family in their loss and sorrow. Be their refuge and strength, O Lord, reassure them of your continuing love and lift them from the depths of grief into the peace and light of your presence. Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, by dying has destroyed our death, and by rising, restored our life. Your Holy Spirit, our comforter, speaks for us in groans too deep for words. Come alongside your people, remind them of your eternal presence and give them your comfort and strength. Amen

Poem:
“Life is But a Stopping Place – Maridee Snyder

Life is but a stopping place,
A pause in what's to be,
A resting place along the road,
To sweet eternity.
We all have different journeys.
Different paths along the way,
We all were meant to learn some things,
But never meant to stay...
Our destination is a place,
Far greater than we know.
For some, the journey's quicker,
For some the journey's slow.
And when the journey finally ends,
We'll claim a great reward,
And find an everlasting peace,
Together with the Lord.

Message: Pastor Roy Karlen, Woodlawn Christian Church (DOC & ABC)

Today we gather to remember a loving couple that shared 48 years together in this world.  We pause this day to remember and mourn the passing of John Darrell Snyder and his loving wife Barbara Luella Spafford Snyder.

John was born in Sac City, Iowa.  He was as he relayed... born at “high noon” on March 31st, 1929 in the backroom of the Hamburger Shop that his parents operated there in Sac City.  Most of his upbringing occurred in the Sac City area.  He attended Washington Township County School and graduated in 1946 from High School in Storm Lake, Iowa.  John enlisted in the US Navy in 1946 and served aboard the USS Hawkins, a destroyer based out of San Diego, California.  John was discharged from the Navy in 1948 and came back to Iowa to attend Buena Vista College in Storm Lake.  He graduated from Buena Vista in June of 1951 with a Bachelors degree in Physics and minors in Chemistry, Mathematics, and Education. From 1952 to 1960 he taught High School mathematics and science in various locations. In 1959 he earned his Masters degree in Physics and in 1962 he completed a Masters degree in  Mathematics.

John was employed at various times at Martin Aerospace, Pillsbury Corporation, Biomedical Computer Services Inc., and beginning in 1975 he worked as a private computer contractor.

Todd and Maridee told me about John's great sense of humor and how quirky he enjoyed being. They told me that when John was younger how he enjoyed fishing but that later in life his major 'hobby' was singing Barbershop Quartet. He was at one time a member of the quartet 'Easy Listenin', and was also a member of the Minneapolis Commodores.  He was very active in the Minneapolis Chapter of Barbershop Quartets and held various offices, Program Vice President, Secretary, President, Editor, Show Chairman, and shortly before his stroke at the age of 65 he emceed one  of their events and both Maridee and Todd remarked how great a role he performed with his wonderful quirky sense of humor.

John was disabled from his stoke for the remaining seven years of his life and Barbara cared for him devotedly, John passed from this world on July 27th, 2000.  John is survived by his sister Bonnie who lives in Fredericksburg, Texas.

Barbara was born on June 1st, 1930 just down the road from here in Auburn, IA, where she grew up on her family's farm.  She attended country school and then High School in Auburn where she graduated in 1949. After High School, she too attended Buena Vista College where she graduated in 1951 with a Teaching Certificate.  After graduation, she taught 2nd grade for one year in Cleghorn, Iowa.

Throughout the years, Barbara enjoyed teaching Sunday School, attending Bible Studies, working in the Church Library at Ridgewood Church, and volunteering at a crisis pregnancy center.

While Barbara was attending college at Buena Vista she met her future husband John.  They were married on June 8th, 1952 and enjoyed 48 years of marriage before John's passing in 2000.  As I mentioned before Barbara took care of John for seven years after his stroke.  The family wondered how she managed to do so due to her small stature but she seemed to have an inner strength that carried her through.  During the time that she was caring for John, she was diagnosed with lymphoma and underwent treatments all the while never ceasing to care for John.

After their marriage, John and Barbara lived in Iowa, Colorado, and South Dakota, before ending up in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Where she lived for most of the remainder of her life only moving back to Auburn twice for short duration's.  She lived in Auburn for two years caring for her mother Zillah Spafford.

I asked Todd and Maridee for words to describe Barbara to me and they told me she was a quiet person, that even though she barely weighed 90 or 95 lbs that she loved sweets, that she loved spring and flowers, that she was always active and involved in her Church.  That she was the one that mainly cared for and raised the children and was the disciplinarian in the family.  She was a devoted housewife. That she was proud of her grandson Joseph and was glad to have been able to watch him grow up to be a fine young man.

They told me how that early in John and Barbara's marriage that they liked to travel and that they honeymooned in Niagara Falls.  Most of their traveling was done prior to the birth of their five children.  They had five boys, Blaine who tragically died while a teen, David who passed away as an infant, Paul who is still living, Jeffrey who died as a newborn, and Todd who is alive and well and with us today.  Barbara and John suffered the loss of three of their children and Todd and Maidee told me that the only song Barbara insisted be used at her funeral was “It is Well With My Soul” by Horatio Spafford.  The family speculates that there may be common ancestry to Barbara's Great Grandfather Spafford who came to settle here in Iowa after being a wagon-master for settlers moving further west.  If you have ever heard the story about the writing of the wonderfully reassuring hymn “It is Well With My Soul”, I encourage you to look it up, it is a wonderful story and one that I based a sermon upon back in November of 2017.

I will just briefly outline the story for you, Horatio Spafford and his wife Anna were well to do and lived in Chicago, but when the Chicago fire broke out Horatio lost nearly all of his Real-Estate holdings.  He sent his wife Anna along with their four daughters in 1873 to Europe to accompany a group from their Church on a Revival / Missionary Trip.  The ship sank while en-route and all four daughters were lost, Horatio penned the words to the hymn while traveling to retrieve Anna in England.  Horatio and Anna had previously lost a son, and would then lose another son born after the tragic accident.  Ultimately, they had another daughter who they aptly named Grace.  Grace would be the only Spafford child to live to adulthood.  Perhaps Barbara held some connection to this wonderful old hymn, due to a common last name, and a shared tragedy with the loss of children.  At any rate, it is a hymn that has blessed and upheld countless Christians and as we listen to it played here at the conclusion of this message, please take to heart the message that Horatio penned so long ago in the face of the loss of his four young daughters.

Todd and Maridee also told me how John once purchased a yellow Cadillac for Barbara and how he then purchased a big brown Cadillac for himself, a car that he christened the “big brown barge”.  Todd said he was very proud of that car, and that he'd always wanted to have a Cadillac.

Maridee told me that it took Barbara a while to warm up to her, what with Maridee being Catholic and all... but that ultimately they had a wonderful relationship and Maridee will talk to us all in just a few moments.  Barbara is also survived by one of her sisters, Janice who lives not too far away in Rippey, IA.

Barbara left only one scripture verse that she wished referenced and that was Isaiah 61:1, which she had written down with the words “Like Jesus, we are called to bring the Good News to a hurting world.”  Obviously, that isn't the words of the scripture found in Isaiah, as the name Jesus wouldn't be found verbatim.  But let me now share with you the verses found in;
Isaiah 61:1-4 & 10-11  Revised Standard Version (RSV)
The Good News of Deliverance
61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good tidings to the afflicted;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins,
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
    my soul shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
    to spring forth before all the nations.

You know, in reading all of that, Barbara's synopsis isn't bad at all... “Like Jesus, we are called to bring the Good News to a hurting world.”  Barbara was devoted to her Church and especially through her efforts in Christian Education, she clearly lived out her interpretation of Isaiah 61:1.  Praise God for the lives of both Barbara and John.

Though our world is poorer for their passing, Heaven is so much the richer, and we all can take console... and in fact, rejoice that these two wonderful souls who loved each other so much... are now reunited and joined eternally in our Lord's Kingdom.  Praise God indeed.

Music:
It is Well With My Soul – CD

Eulogy/Memories:
Maridee Snyder

Music:
How Great Thou Art – CD

Closing Prayer:

Following the interment at Oaklawn Cemetery in Auburn, the family wishes for you all to join them in further celebration of John and Barbara's lives and a time of shared remembrances and closure, by gathering with them for a reception at Santa Maria's Winery in Carroll. 

Let us please pray:
O God, our Strength and our Redeemer, Giver of life, and Conqueror of death, we open our hearts to you just as we are.  We celebrate your gift of life freely given but are grieved by a sense of loss in the face of death.  The love which binds us to one another leaves us aching as ties are broken.  Accept our tears as emblems of devotion, and transform them into waters of life to nourish us in the days ahead.

We trust you.  We love you.  We know in Christ that your love is everlasting.  Nothing can separate any of us from your abiding care.  With you is eternal life.

With confidence, we now entrust John & Barbara to your unfailing love and overflowing goodness.  Through the power that raised Christ from the dead to live eternally with you, lift up these, your servants, to life fulfilled beyond our imagining.  We give you but your own, enfold them in your everlasting arms, hold them for they are your children.

Now strengthen us, through the gift of your Spirit, to face into the future with confidence that you stand with us.  Grant that the changes of life may leave us stronger as we journey through life.

Reassured of your abiding presence, help us to knit more firmly the ties that bind us one to another.  Renewed by your love, help us to love in ever larger circles so as to embrace your people everywhere till at last we are all united eternally through Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Benediction:

Committal Service:
Selfishly, we as mortals wished to hold on to both John and Barbara. It brings great pain to let them go. Living in the resurrection hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the trust of a loving God and in the promise of eternal life, we now commit their ashes to their final place of rest. We will continue to mourn them, but today and forever more, their smiles and laughter will warm the kingdom of God. We will continue to love them both, but God now takes care of them. We will continue to carry John & Barbara in our thoughts, but they are today safe in their beloved God's hands. Lord, hold them in your arms mercy, O God, in the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and in the glorious company of all your saints.

Let us now hear a reading from the 3rd Chapter of Ecclesiastes:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

And let us also hear the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus, who is the Christ...
as found in the Gospel of John 14:1-3  (RSV).
14 “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Believing in the Resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we now entrust John & Barbara to the care of Almighty God and we ask Our Father to open the doors to his mansion and lead them to the room made ready just for them. As we now commit their ashes to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, we commend their spirits to their new home. Rest eternal grant them; and let light perpetual shine upon them.

God has blessed and enriched so many lives in giving both John & Barbara to their family and friends to know and to love here on this earth. Though their time together was not nearly enough, today, we give over to God the care of their spirits, and we acknowledge that we will one day reunite with them in God's Kingdom. The Lord bless them and keep them; the Lord make His face shine upon them and be gracious onto them; the Lord look upon them with favor and give them His peace.

Let us now pray together the prayer that our Lord and Savior taught us to pray... Our Father...

This concludes our graveside service.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, may His strong arms encircle you and uphold you in your hour of grief.  God's peace and strength to you all.
Amen