Michael Thomas Snyder, an East Berne native who cherished his children and life outdoors, died suddenly and peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. He was 42.

Mr. Snyder was born in the city of Albany to David Snyder and Deborah Smith, but raised in the rural Hilltowns, where he fished, hunted, hiked, and took to anything with a motor. 

“He just loved all of it — being out in the open space, and fresh air,” said his mother-in-law, Mae Roberts, who said he had been that way his entire life. 

Preferring hands-on learning to formal instruction, Mr. Snyder had entered the workforce after graduating from Berne-Knox-Westerlo, and was most recently a self-employed carpenter, which allowed him to express his knack for putting things together. 

Mr. Snyder had five children, whom he was raising as a single father after the death of his wife. He passed his love of the outdoors on to his five children, often taking them fishing off the dock of Warners Lake, or snowmobiling, or sledding down a trail they had made together. 

“He wasn’t just a dad,” said his eldest son, Brodan, “he was a best friend.”

Ms. Roberts called him “the best dad,” whose children “were his world.”

“They were always together and there was just so much love between them,” she said. 

In addition to memories of their time spent together, Mr. Snyder’s mother said that he gave to his children, family, and friends “his large capacity to love.”

“Mike has always made you feel loved and safe,” she said. “His smiles will be greatly missed.”

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Michael Thomas Snyder is survived by his five children, Brodan, Eliza, Landon, Cashton, and Lilyana; along with his father, David Snyder; his mother, Deborah Smith; his brother, Benjamin Snyder; his mother-in-law, Mae Roberts; his brother-in-law, Justin Dale, and Justin’s wife, Maria; and several aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

Mr. Snyder’s wife, Alison Snyder, died in 2021. 

A celebration of life will be held in Mr. Snyder’s memory at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to a GoFundMe that has been created on behalf of Mr. Snyder’s children. It can be reached at the following link:https://www.gofundme.com/f/tzt8z-snyder-family

Memorial messages can be left at altamontenterprise.com/milestones

— Noah Zweifel