McDonald, Thelma Vester

1903 - 1998  (94 years)

• Name	McDonald, Thelma Vester
  Born	7 Jun 1903	Comanche County, Texas, USA
  Gender	Female
  Died	7 Feb 1998	Hobbs, Lea County, New Mexico, USA
  Buried	Mission Garden of Memories Cemetery - Clovis, Curry County, New Mexico, USA
  	Findagrave.com Memorial #27605634
  Person ID	I8004	Coursey-Sansing Tree
  Last Modified	17 Nov 2020

  
  

  Family	Snider, George Travis Sr.,   b. 23 Nov 1901, Robertson County, Texas, USA ,   d. 15 Apr 1980, Hobbs, Lea County, New Mexico, USA  (Age 78 years)
  Children	1. Snider, George Travis Jr.,   b. 5 Feb 1927, New Mexico, USA ,   d. 15 Apr 1996, Concord, Contra Costa County, California, USA  (Age 69 years)   2. Snider, Mary Evelyn   3. Snider, Dortha,   b. 13 Jan 1931, New Mexico, USA ,   d. 18 Jul 1994, Parkland Hospital - Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, USA  (Age 63 years)   4. Snider, James Leon
  Last Modified	17 Nov 2020
  Family ID	F3311	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Biography Vester was one of the four surviving children out of nine born to her parents. They were living in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) when she arrived in 1904. 1910 CENSUS INDIAN TERRITORY, Stephens County, McPherson Township - McDONALD, James William, head, marr. 13 years, farmer, general farm; Mary K., wife, age 30, 8 child - 3 living; Marion W., son, age 10, farm labor; Thelma V. , dau age, 6; Leola, dau, age 1 1/2. Another brother was born and about a year old when an epidemic of spinal meningitis struck the community. Vester remembered the day her mother couldn't get out of bed. Meal time was approaching and Vester, who was the oldest little girl, had never cooked a meal. She took the ingredients into the bedroom and learned to make biscuits at her mother's bedside. This was a lesson taught by a dying mother and well learned by her eight year old daughter. Vester would be known by her own family and relatives for her biscuits. After her mother's death, her father sent the four little children to his parents in New Mexico. He told Vester years later, that after he put them on the train and it pulled out, he ran down the tracks behind the train to try to get his children off again and keep them with him. He soon joined them in New Mexico. Vester was teaching school in Curry County, New Mexico, when she met and married another teacher, Travis Snider. They attended Montezuma Baptist College, near Las Vegas, New Mexico, after the birth of their first child. Both of Travis' sisters were attending and were handy babysitters. In time, the couple settled in Forrest, New Mexico, where they raised four children. Travis farmed and was a mechanic, Vester was an accomplished seamstress, and sewed for her own family and the public. She did substitute teaching and taught Sunday School. In later years, they moved to Hobbs, New Mexico, where they helped in their daughter's drapery shop. After Travis' death, Vester lived in an assisted living retirement center the last years of her long life. This devout and caring woman touched the lives of family and friends in a profound way - my Aunt Vester. - Blanche Keating Collie Children: 1. George Travis Snider 1927NM - 1996Ca 2. Mary Evelyn Snider Roach 1929NM - 3. Dortha Louise Snider Cleveland Sturdevant 1931NM - 1994Tx 4. James Leon Snider 1933NM -