Myrl Snyder

Evidently, Heaven needed a catcher for its softball team, so called up Myrl Snyder from the earthly minors to go play with the pros on Monday, March 28, 2016. She’s on to her next great adventure, and we are sure it involves a softball glove, some golf clubs, a poker chip or two and lots of animals.
She was born in Maywood, California on February 11, 1943, the 13th and last child of Lena Rink Snyder. Her father was Kenneth Ralph Snyder. Myrl was known by many names: Myrlie, Blossom, Lipshitz, Martha and many others that aren’t printable, but make her friends smile when they remember them.
Myrl pulled herself up via the bootstraps to achieve a degree in Accounting from San Jose State College. She was a wiz at business and loved her work. She was interested in so many things.
She was an “Original Edition”; giving, smart and stubborn as heck. She loved animals more than most people, and could be brought to tears by any story good or bad about an animal. Now that she is gone, the myriad of neighborhood cats will have to find another place to mooch extra meals.
She also loved sports. She was an excellent athlete in her younger days, and continued to play a mean game of golf until just a few years ago.
She loved softball so much that she became the owner/manager of The Bandits, an AAA major league women’s fast pitch softball team in the Bay Area. She gave many women the chance to live their dreams of playing professional ball, as she mentored, cajoled and browbeat them into a winning team. She was a natural leader and the team loved her.
Her family and friends remember many of Myrl’s common sense philosophies:
• You can never have too many light-up reindeer in your yard for the holidays, and it’s best if you move them around every few nights to make the neighbors think they are losing their minds.
• If a raccoon shows up on your deck and won’t go away, feed it and let it stay; what’s a little raccoon poop in the big scheme of things.
• Never trust any runner on first or third base.
• Hang out with friends who are worse golfers than you are, so you can talk about “the world’s longest divot” and laugh, laugh, laugh. Also hang out with really good golfers, so you push yourself to play better.
• Let the cats sleep on the bed, but never turn their side of the electric blanket up as high as your own, no matter how often they complain.
• Always use 10 screws when one will do, just in case your friends think they should try to remove the ugly yard ornament you screwed on their fence as a joke.
• Always ask about other people’s interests and views, it’s OK to change your mind on anything, especially politics and football teams.
• Counting cards is a good strategy, but not while playing “13” with cheaters and hooligans.
• Bluebirds don’t know a good birdhouse when they see one.
• Riding lawn mowers are best driven at full speed and in any direction your heart pulls you at the moment, sooner or later the whole yard will get mowed.
• Pepe le Pew is the quintessential ladies man and should be emulated in all things romantic.
• When you count your blessings count your friends twice.
Myrl is survived by her brother Ralph “Jake” Snyder and his wife Phyllis of Long Beach CA. She is survived by two other siblings from the Gunn side of her family. She is predeceased by her longtime partner Charlotte Sanders, who was the love of her life.
She leaves behind a gaggle of friends who loved her dearly and who enjoyed her spirit, intellect and caring nature. The world has lost a gem, but many of us will always smile at the thought of her.