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GORDON SNYDER Obituary
GORDON SNYDER
Des Moines
Gordon Snyder, 96, passed away on Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at Wesley Acres in Des Moines. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Monday at Westminster Presbyterian Church with burial at Resthaven Cemetery.
Gordon was born August 25, 1912 in rural Dallas County. He was the third oldest in a family of ten children. He graduated from Redfield High School where he played football. As a young man, he worked on the family farm and as a member of 4H, exhibited cattle at the Dallas County and Iowa State Fairs.
He married Doris A. Horning on July 21, 1940 and they were married over 60 years. During WWII, he served in the Air Force and was the nose gunner on a B-24 Liberator with the 451st Bomb Group. During this time, crew members often paid him $3 each to paint "nose art" on the planes, some examples of which have been preserved in the Nose Art Museum in Harlingen, Texas.
After the war, he returned to Des Moines and worked as an apprentice in the painting and decorating business before starting his own decorating business which he operated for over 30 years. Gordon was a locally known Iowa artist. Many of his works reflected his rural background. He exhibited and sold paintings at local art shows and sales and has won many awards as a member of the Iowa Art Group and Veteran's Art Group including many Best in Shows. He was a member of the Za-Ga-Zig Shrine, Order of the Eastern Star, Des Moines Economics Club, High Twelve and a 60 year member of Westminster Presbyterian Church.
Gordon is survived by his two daughters, Margaret (Philip) Stoffregen of Des Moines and Susan (Stanley) Burke of Spokane, WA; grandson, Neil Stoffregen of Des Moines; brother, Norman Snyder of CA and two sisters, Mary (Melvin) Swinger of AZ and Doris Kipping of Redfield.
Gordon was preceded in death by his wife, parents, five brothers and one sister.
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at McLaren's Chapel.
Memorial contributions may be directed to Westminster Presbyterian Church or the Acanthus Waveland Masonic Lodge.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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