Keith Wakefield Snyder, 77, of Liberty, Missouri, passed peacefully into eternity March 1, 2025, at a hospice in Shawnee, Kansas. Keith was born June 18, 1947, in Berlin, son of Don and Helen Snyder; his father, a major in the U.S. Army, was stationed in Germany with the Army of Occupation following World War II.
 Later Don Snyder joined the Foreign Service and Keith attended primary and secondary schools in Switzerland; he became fluent in French as well as English. Keith first set foot in the United States when he was 18, having traveled with his parents to his father’s various postings around the world as he grew up. In 1966, he volunteered for the U.S. Army despite being eligible for a deferment as a practicing member of the Society of Friends (Quakers). He served 3 years and was awarded Army Commendation, Good Con­duct and National Defense Medals.
 In 1974 Don and Helen retired to Boston, Mas­sachusetts, and purchased a home on Beacon Hill; Keith settled in Boston after his honorable discharge from the Army and attended the Friends Meeting House there. He was married in the Meeting House to Lolly Ockerstrom, a graduate student at Northeastern University, in 1981. Keith graduated from the Univer­sity of Massachusetts with a degree in English. Together, Keith and Lolly dedicated their lives to serving others. They began this adventure by being directors of a home for troubled youths in western Massachusetts, and then for about 10 years were assistant directors for the Beacon Hill Friends House in Boston. They then moved to Washington, DC, as directors of Davis House for the American Friends Field Service. After several years, they moved on to Virginia where Lolly had taken a job teaching English at Old Dominion University. In 2003 the couple moved to the Kansas City area when Lolly accepted a position in the English Department at Park University and where Keith tutored in French.
 Keith was a man for all seasons: he wrote poetry, painted in watercolors, played guitar, cooked gourmet dinners, and played a great game of chess. He was an avid sailor and often reminisced about sailing with his father in their 23-foot Stone Horse wooden boat in the South China Sea when Don was posted to the Far East. Keith was a member of a sailing club in Boston and enjoyed taking family members for day cruises in the harbor. He was a voracious reader across a broad spectrum of topics.
 Keith and Lolly were frequent visitors to England and France, taking students on tours for Study Abroad programs for Park University and hiking in the Lake District. They once house-sat for Friends House in France for several months while the directors were traveling.
 Fifteen years ago, Keith was stricken with Parkin­son’s disease; it slowly robbed him of his mobility and he moved to a hospice in Shawnee in January 2024. The family thanks Tony Kagua for the loving care Keith received.
 Keith was preceded in death by his parents, Don and Helen Snyder, and a brother, Lance. He is survived by his wife Lolly, Liberty, MO; brother Courtney Snyder, Setubal, Portugal; in-laws John and Karen Brown, Kansas City, North, and Dennis and Jeanette Okerstrom, Independence, MO; nieces and nephews Danielle McClure, Swampscott, MA; Kevin Brown, Liberty, and Amy (Terry) Dickens, Gardner, KS; Erik (Jen) Okerstrom, Independence; Erin (Shaun) Symmonds, Kansas City; Kyrie (Adam) Manchion, Independence; and Katye (Johnny) Savage, Kansas City; and many grand-nephews and grand-nieces.
 Cremation; his ashes were placed in two urns for burial in the family plot in Boston as well as a future interment in the Kansas City area. The family held a private celebration of his life; no formal services.