Marilyn Hofer Snyder

Many people have wondered why we chose to give Morgan the middle name of Marilyn. So I (Danny) thought that I would do a post dedicated to her namesake. I was blessed with having the greatest grandmother anyone could ever ask for. Though she stood at a mere 5 feet tall, in regards to the life she lived she stood high above the rest. She was what you would call a modern-day pioneer. Shortly after marrying my grandpa, she had 6 kids in less than 6 years (one set of twins). My grandpa was inactive in the church and so my grandma would get those six kids ready and take them all to church by herself each Sunday. Thanks to her persistence, her sons and grandsons and granddaughters have taken the message of the gospel to Japan, Argentina, Brazil and various parts of the US. She never gave up on my grandpa though, and shortly after my parents were married, thanks to a diligent wife and set of home teachers, my grandpa became her most important convert of all. They later served a mission together on welfare square and worked in the Bountiful Temple for ten years, filling the hardest slot of the week (Friday and Saturday nights). My grandma was always very active. She played softball, exercised regularly, tended her garden constantly, and even helped my grandpa build my aunt a house (a project the two of them alone completed over a four year period). When my aunt finally moved into the house, the neighbors asked her, "What happened to the nice old couple who built this house? We heard they died." HAHA! I never once heard my grandma complain. As she laid in the hospital, just days before her death, she used her last words to make sure that everything was taken care of for the family Thanksgiving dinner. She passed away on November 18, 2008. The funeral was beautiful, as not a single negative thing was said about this kind, extraordinary woman. Her bishop shared the lyrics from a song from the play Wicked and I close my thoughts with those same words:

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you...

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend...

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
Because I knew you

I have been changed for good