Mary was born December 2, 1912 in Drexel, Missouri, the daughter of Julian Sylvester and Ida Ridley (Dick) Snow. Mary was in the eighth grade when her family moved to Kansas City, Missouri. She did not move with them, but finished out her eighth grade school year at Green Valley by living with the nearby Hawkins family. When she moved back with the family, she was able to enroll as a freshman at Central Senior High School. Mary was baptized at the Adrian First Baptist Church. She attended Altona Baptist Church as a young girl.
After graduation, Mary spent a short time at Baker University. Money was more attractive than books, so she found that as a switchboard operator with AT&T. Her latest employment was with IRS. Her life as a single girl ended when she married a young neighbor man, Frederick John Meiners, in 1937 in Kansas City, Missouri. The two celebrated more than 60 years together before Frederick’s death. She had lived with her son, Richard and his wife, Tania, in Fairbanks, Alaska. They also spent the winter at their summer home in Palm Springs, California.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, one sister, and her husband, Frederick. She is survived by three sons, Fred Meiners (Rita), Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Richard Meiners (Tania), Fairbanks, Alaska, and Larry Snow Meiners, Avon Lake, Ohio; 7 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren.
