Leona Mae Snethen

Leona “Lee” Mae Snethen, of Independence, Missouri, age 81, passed on June 10, 2020 at her residence in Indianapolis, Indiana. Lee was born July 15, 1938, in Chariton, Iowa, to John and Leona Blackstock. She married the love of her life, Luther Snethen, Jr., in 1959, and together they had two sons, John and Jeffery.

Lee taught grade school in Independence, and then started her own catering business. After Luther passed in 1989, she returned to college and earned her master’s degree in special education. She taught grade school in Kansas City until her retirement in 2004. She loved teaching children how to read.

During the last few years of life, she courageously faced the onset of dementia like she faced all challenges in her life—head on, with good humor and stubborn pragmatism. She made all the major decisions in her life, including planning her own funeral, choosing to downsize and move into assisted living in Independence, where her son Jeff cared for her, and then moving to assisted living in Indianapolis, where her son John cared for her.

In Indianapolis Lee enjoyed the last years of her life actively participating in family events and cultivating an international circle of friends as far away as the Middle East. She was joyful and ornery, playful and sassy until the end. Lee passed away peacefully after battling COVID-19.

She is survived by her two sons and their wives, John and Lena Snethen, and Jeff and Terri Snethen; her grandchildren and their spouses, Colter and Claire Snethen, and Austin and Clarence Perryman. She was one of a kind and is loved and missed by so many.