Elizabeth Ann Snowden died on March 5 in Arlington, Massachusetts following a brief illness at the age of 93. A long-time resident of Darien and Stamford, Connecticut, she recently moved to the Boston area to be closer to her family.

Known to everyone as Libby, she was the only daughter of Walter W. Krider and Anna H. Mulford. Born and raised on Long Island, she graduated from Swarthmore College with a degree in chemistry in 1936 at the early age of 19 and subsequently earned a Master’s in chemistry from Columbia University in 1937. She then moved to Stamford to work as a secretary in the legal department at the new headquarters of American Cyanamid, the beginning of a 13-year association with the company.

Her knowledge of chemistry and skills with legal language attracted attention and she was sent to open a Washington, D.C. branch of the company after the start of World War II, taking night courses at George Washington University to qualify her as a patent chemist capable of presenting patents for examination and review to the federal government. Eager to contribute more actively to the war effort, she joined the American Red Cross in 1944 and was attached to an anti-aircraft battalion that took part in the invasion of southern France. American Cyanamid gave her a leave of absence during her Red Cross service and she returned to work for the company in 1945.

She married James F. Snowden in 1950 and moved to Darien, leaving her job and dedicating the next three decades of her life to raising her family and various volunteer activities. She was a member of the Darien Country Club for many years where she developed lasting friendships over golf and bridge; a Deacon and a Sunday school teacher among other activities at the Noroton Presbyterian Church; a long-standing volunteer at Stamford Hospital, and a regular patron of the Darien Library until her final move to Massachusetts.

Returning to work once her children were in college, she became a highly valued and much-loved member of the legal department at Xerox, retiring in 1985. She remained an avid golfer into her 80s, as well as an ardent follower of the UConn men’s basketball team and the NCAA tournament in her later years. She continued to take great interest and pride in the accomplishments of her immediate and extended family and the extensive network of friends with whom she maintained contact throughout her life and who meant so much to her. They in turn remember her as a woman of strong convictions, with a good heart and generosity of spirit towards others who touched all those who she came in contact with.

She is survived by her son Don Snowden of Valencia, Spain, her daughter Kay Snowden and son-in-law James Lisieski of Arlington, Massachusetts, her beloved granddaughters Marin and Erica Fingerle also of Arlington, and two step-grandsons, Mike and Dane Lisieski. She also leaves seven nieces and nephews and their families to whom she was devoted. Her former husband James F. Snowden predeceased her in 1996.
A memorial service for family and friends will be held on Saturday, March 13 at 1:00 p.m. at the Chapel of the Noroton Presbyterian Church in Darien, Connecticut, with a reception at the church following the service. Funeral services will be private, with burial at Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens, New York.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Connecticut Junior Republic (CJR), 550 Goshen Road, P.O. Box 161, Litchfield, Connecticut, 06759. E-mail: info@ctjuniorrepublic.org, www.ctjuniorrepublic.org. This non-profit organization, dedicated to helping at-risk, special needs and troubled youth become productive members of their communities, was Libby’s favorite charity, and she regularly attended their annual presentation as long as she was physically able.