Helen L. Snapp, 89, died peacefully on the evening of March 24, 2023 in Columbia City at Miller's at Oak Pointe. She was a resident there since the fall of 2021.

Born on December 17, 1933, she was the daughter of Raymond and Mildred (Sickafoose) Miller. She spent her entire life in Whitley County, and she was fond of saying that she never lived more than two-and-a-half miles from the courthouse.

Helen was in high school, living on the family farm south of Columbia City on State Road 205, when a new family moved to the farm across the road in 1950. Those new neighbors – the Snapps – had a son named Glenn. The two of them were married on August 25, 1951. Helen and Glenn celebrated their 70 ^th wedding anniversary in 2021, shortly before he passed away on October 1 of that year.

Though she was a devoted farm wife – driving tractor, mowing the farm's huge lawn, famously tending a big and productive strawberry patch – Helen also worked at a variety of jobs through the years. Fresh out of high school, she was the secretary at the law offices of John Whiteleather, Sr. At various times she was a teller at Citizens State Bank, a clerk in the Whitley County Treasurer's Office, the bookkeeper for More Farm Stores, and an auction clerk for Schrader Brothers Auctions. She was also very active in the community as a member and frequent officer of organizations including the Evening Belles Home Extension Club, the Beaver Club euchre group, Opportunity Acres N.E.O. (Neighborhood Extension Organization), and the Rebekah Circle at the Columbia City United Methodist Church to which she belonged for many years. In the early '80s, Helen began keeping the farm's books on her Apple IIc computer, and she had exceptional comfort with technology throughout her life. Until just before her passing, she tracked her money accounts on her laptop, followed Facebook and traded emails via her iPad, and read voraciously on her Kindle.

Along with Glenn, she discovered golf in the early '70s and was a familiar sight on local courses where they often played multiple times a week. Helen spent countless hours constructing jigsaw puzzles, the trickier the better. She was also a sharp and competitive game player, equally devoted to cards, dominoes, Scrabble, and the word and logic games she played on her computer and iPad.

Helen is survived by her son, Steve (Larry Jacobs) of Boynton Beach, FL, and her daughter, Janet, who lives in Fort Wayne. In addition to Glenn, she was preceded in death by her parents and an infant daughter, Amy.

Visitation will be on Tuesday, March 28 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Smith & Sons Funeral Home. The funeral service will be on Wednesday, March 29 at 10:30 a.m. with burial at the Nolt Cemetery. Memorials in Helen's honor may be made to the Whitley County Council on Aging.

Condolences may be sent to www.smithandsonsfuneralhome.com