Fred Snyder

Retired Upper Sandusky teacher, Milton F. Snyder III, died Thursday, Nov. 6, at the Wyandot County Skilled Nursing home.

Known as Fred, he was born April 29, 1942, to Mr. and Mrs. Milton F. Snyder II in Nashville, TN. Fred grew up in Oak Ridge, TN during World War II at the time uranium was being enriched thus exposing him to radiation. Hence, he was plagued with two kinds of cancer and dementia later in life. Fred also was part Cherokee.

Fred met his future wife Elizabeth "Bette" in Chillicothe, Ohio, where both had moved and where she tried out for the senior class play in order to meet the students in her class. She met Fred and they remained a couple for 66 years.

Fred went to Ohio University's branch campus in Chillicothe, enabling him to work 40 hours a week. This allowed him to take a job as an ad salesman for the Chillicothe Gazette, the newspaper where his wife was working after graduating from OU's school of journalism. One of the other ad salesmen and Fred became lifelong friends and he and Bette traveled the world with him and his partner for many years. It was Fred's suggestion that they buy a piece of art from every country they visited to hang in their house as a memory of their many trips.

After graduating with a degree in education, Fred was hired by the Upper Sandusky school system as a business teacher. He also taught an accounting class for Marion Technical College for many years. While at Upper Sandusky High school, he wore many hats, including that of bus driver. When the transportation department was short of drivers, Fred drove students home from school. And being a stranger to the county, he relied on the students to guide him. He also drove the bus for the girls' basketball team, forming a friendship with Coach Andra Bell which lasted a lifetime.

His extracurricular assignments such as prom and yearbook advisor and assistant athletic director kept him busy throughout the school year. He also began creating slide shows for every graduating class, making sure each senior was pictured. But it was pairing the slide show with the music popular that year that kept him busy listening to all the latest tunes, then acquiring a copy of each one. The slide shows are now used for class reunions.

And during his teaching years, he also acquired a masters' degree from Ashland University.

In retirement, Fred became involved in sailing and fly fishing, the latter which often took him to the Smoky Mountains and northern Michigan. He also grew a large vegetable garden. And during each summer, he and Bette traveled the world creating their own agendas and never using guided tours.

A voracious reader, Fred made sure that almost every room in his Cape Cod house, which he helped finish after it was built in 1973, had at least one bookcase. He spent 10 years on the Upper Sandusky Library Board in retirement.

Fred was known by his students and friends to be kind, caring and compassionate. And he always enjoyed a good joke.

Fred's survivors include his wife Bette, children Katie (Carlos) Pineda, Sugar Land, TX, Molly Snyder (Rob Caraballo) Hilliard, and Patrick (April) Snyder, Pittsburgh. Grandchildren include Alex and Sophia Pineda, twins Hannah and Mary Jane Snyder, Robert Snyder, Cassie Snyder and Dylan Snyder.

A memorial service for Milton Fred Snyder will be held at 11:00 am Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at the Lucas Batton Funeral Home in Upper Sandusky, with Father John Drymon officiating.

Visitations will be held on Tuesday, November 11, from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Lucas Batton Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Upper Sandusky Community Library, or Hospice of Wyandot Memorial and can be sent to Lucas Batton, 476 S. Sandusky Ave. Upper Sandusky, Ohio, 43351.

Upper Sandusky Community Library
Upper Sandusky OH

Hospice of Wyandot Memorial