Evelyn Snodgrass died peacefully on March 14, 2015, at the Avante at Ocala nursing home, after a long illness. Born on August 25, 1924, she was raised in Wanamaker, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis, the eldest of four children of Hazel Roane Courtney and Allen J. “Bud” Courtney, vice-president of a savings and loan company. She attended Howe High School in Indianapolis and after a short stint at a business college, fell in love with and married Garrett A. Snodgrass in April 1944, a marriage that lasted 62 years, until Gary’s death in 2006, and produced three sons. After WWII, Evelyn and Gary lived first in Indianapolis and then in McCordsville, IN, before moving in 1952 west of Indianapolis to the small town of Roachdale. They purchased a Ben Franklin variety store there and became active leaders in the community. Evelyn managed the store full-time, including creating one-after-another splendid window displays, from 1955 when Gary began working a second job in a General Motors factory in Indianapolis until they sold the store in 1978. She then worked as a charming but tenacious business manager for the town physician, before she and Gary retired first to Lake Wales, FL in 1982, then to Gainesville in late 1987, where they became active members of Grace United Methodist Church at Fort Clarke. Evelyn continued to enjoy church gatherings and her many friends until her health failed over the last several years.\tEvelyn was an engaging, socially gregarious, and unfailingly courteous woman who always sought to be friendly and put others at ease. She enjoyed participating actively in her community and church; she liked to entertain, and she was always a gracious host. She enjoyed music, especially the classics from the Big Band Era and crooners like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Andy Williams. She sang in the church choir, and although she did not play an instrument herself, she encouraged all of her sons to play an instrument and sing in choirs. She especially enjoyed cruises, board games, and bridge parties. While ever proper, she had a mischievous streak. She liked practical jokes and was comfortable teasing and being teased, usually forecasted by an unmistakable twinkle in her eye.\tEvelyn was also artistically creative, with great appreciation for beauty and order. Whether with her welcoming business displays, attractive home furnishings, or decorations for parties, she had a flair for creating beauty all around her. She would not keep anything in her home that was not tasteful and pleasing to the eye. Always impeccably dressed, she coordinated her outfits carefully and made certain she and her home were ever “fit for public view.” She had a persistent and uncompromising drive for excellence in almost everything she did, and by example often inspired excellence in others. \tWhile ever polite and gracious, Evelyn was also an intelligent, strong-minded, and fiercely independent woman. Although personally reserved, she was very sensitive, compassionate, and ever quick to help others, even if she herself never wanted, if she could possibly avoid it, to need help from others. Although temperamentally traditional, she was a staunch supporter of women’s individual rights. Not least, she was a very proud, devoted, frugal, and dedicated mother, working hard and sacrificing significantly to try to make sure that her sons would have more education (and a better life) than their parents. Although often exhausted after a long day’s work, she never failed to cook the favorite meal, buy the thoughtful gift, or (after receiving anything), always write a beautifully handwritten thank-you note.\tEvelyn was pre-deceased by her parents and her brother Gene Courtney. She is survived by her brother Robert Courtney of Indianapolis; her sister Janice Stiers of Stacy, MN; her three sons, Chris of Gainesville, FL, Ron of San Antonio, TX and Jim of Cary, NC; and her seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.A memorial service will be 4:00 PM, Friday, June 12 at Simplicity Funeral & Cremation Care, 7520 Madison Avenue, Indianapolis. Visitation will be two hours prior to the service at the funeral home.
