Linda Snyder

Linda Snyder, 75, of Shepherdstown, West Virginia, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Friday, June 10, 2022.

Linda was best known as the long-time choral director at Martinsburg High School, her alma mater. Under her direction, the school’s Good Times Show Choir grew into a State Champion, and Linda mentored hundreds of students during her 18 years of service to the school.

She was born Linda Plume in Martinsburg, West Virginia in 1946. Linda’s love for music blossomed early. As a child, Linda’s parents told her that they could afford either a television or a piano, but not both. Linda chose the piano and managed to talk her sister into agreeing to the choice. That choice served her well throughout her life.

Linda attended Martinsburg High School, graduating in 1964. She earned undergraduate degrees in Education and Music (Pipe Organ/Voice) from West Virginia University in 1968. It was at WVU that Linda first developed the twin life-long loves of WVU Football and her husband, Donald William “Bill” Snyder II – in that order. Go Mountaineers!

Linda and Bill were married in 1968 and later moved to Newport News, Virginia where Linda devoted herself to her family and her love for music. In Newport News, Linda raised two children while also serving as the organist and choir director at Denbigh Presbyterian for 18 years and teaching music in elementary school.

In 1994, Linda and Bill decided to return home to West Virginia. They settled in Shepherdstown, where Linda went on to serve as organist and choir director of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church for 20 years. During her 38 plus years as a church organist and choir director, Linda’s Christmas Eve music services were most special to her.

In 1994, Linda returned to Martinsburg High School to teach music. It was at Martinsburg that Linda found her true calling – mentoring and inspiring students through music. She saw music as the perfect vehicle to teach students grit, perseverance, and the value of hard work. Under Linda’s tutelage, her students thrived. They learned both how to dream big and how to work hard to achieve those dreams. They learned the importance of leadership, teamwork, respect for others, and personal responsibility. Along the way, her Good Times Show Choir earned two State Championships and the respect of schools across the eastern United States and into Canada. Linda was inducted into the Martinsburg High School Hall of Fame in 2017.

Following her retirement, Linda devoted herself to her grandchildren and shared her love of music with them. Her two oldest grandchildren received violin and voice lessons, as well as a determined grandmother willing to drive an hour each way to take them to the lessons herself. Her youngest grandchild received the gift of piano lessons taught by Linda herself. Even as Linda grew more ill, her priority was to pass her love of music down to the girls she loved so deeply.

Linda is predeceased in death by her father, Lester Houston Plume, and her mother, Ruth Koons Plume, of Martinsburg, West Virginia. She is survived by her loving husband, Bill Snyder; her son, Donald William Snyder III and his wife Christine, of Shaker Heights, Ohio; her daughter, Susan Snyder Quintas and her husband, Major Gen. John Quintas (USAF Ret.), of Aldie, Virginia; her greatest sources of pride and joy, her granddaughters Ava, Elisabeth, and Caroline Quintas, of Aldie, Virginia; her sister, Elizabeth Fuss, of Frederick, Maryland; her brother, David Plume, of Martinsburg, West Virginia; and three nephews. Also surviving her is her show choir family, which numbers in the hundreds and spans the country.

A memorial service was held 11 a.m. Thursday, June 16 at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Shepherdstown. Linda was interred later on Thursday in a private ceremony with the family in attendance. A celebration of life ceremony will be hosted in the coming months.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Linda Snyder Memorial Scholarship Fund, which will be awarded to a deserving music student at Martinsburg High School. The fund is managed by the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation, 229 East Martin Street, Suite 4, Martinsburg, WV 25401. Checks should be made payable to EWVCF, and the memo line should reference “Linda Snyder Memorial.”

Arrangements made by Brown Funeral Home.

Online condolences may be offered at www.BrownFuneralHomesWV.com.