Wanda Louise (Snyder) Corey

Wanda Louise (Snyder) Corey was born in Evart, MI March 5, 1921, and went to be with the Lord on July 30, 2023, at the age of 102 in Farmington Hills, MI. She graduated from Belding, MI High School and started working in the Belding Western Union office. She met Leon Corey while he was working for Western Union office in Greenville, MI. They were married in Belding, MI on June 29, 1940, and moved to Frankfort, MI where Leon was managing the Western Union office. She managed the office alone for a week while her husband was with his family after his father died.  Wanda is survived by four children, Wayne (Diane), Kay Bruner (Donald), Carole Johnston (Robert) and Michael (Donna) and her brother Wayne Snyder. She had 11 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.  She was preceded in death by her parents Alvah & Bertha Snyder, her husband Leon, and a grandson Russell Poovey.

Wanda was given the Volunteer of the year award for 2003 from the Lutheran Homes of Michigan. She spent countless hours of her life in volunteer work, including leadership in the Women’s League at her churches, group leader of Blue Birds, Camp Fire Girls, PTA leadership, inner city of Akron, Ohio, Hawthorn Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio and Brightmoor Prayer House Mission in Detroit.  She worked as an election worker at a local precinct in Akron Ohio for several years.

She enjoyed playing the piano, singing, listening to music and reading. Besides the Broadway musicals that she and Leon enjoyed, she also had to listen to the top 40 hits that her kids played constantly on the stereo and knew most of the songs.  She and Leon were members of a bridge club for several years. She had a Singer Treadle sewing machine and made some clothes for herself and her daughters. She made all the dance costumes for them for 8 years and made Mike’s reversible jacket for his lead role in The Music Man. 

She loved gardening and could still remember each garden she had at her home in Frankfurt,  MI, 3 homes in Hastings, one each in Kalamazoo, MI,  South Bend, IN, Akron, Ohio, and two homes in Livonia.  She loved cooking holiday meals for her family, planned them out carefully, and still had time to enjoy all the company when they arrived. Being with her growing family was always her favorite time.  Even in the last few years, when she could not get around easily and could not see very well, she enjoyed just sitting and watching all the activity of her family around her. She loved celebrating her 100th birthday. She talked about it and looked at the pictures for several weeks after the party.

She had a strong faith in God. After her husband died, she kept a journal for one year recording her daily activities and commenting on how God had helped her through each day.

She was a living example of Matthew 25: 35 “For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me.” And in verse 40 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”