Barbara Jean Courtney Snider
Barb peacefully and quietly passed away on February 22, 2016, in Spokane, Washington, due to complications from advanced COPD. She was born on January 1, 1938, in Revere to Oval and Loa Courtney.
Barb grew up in Kahoka and Luray. She and husband Jim eloped and married in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on February 25, 1956. Jim’s airline job landed them in Wyoming and they eventually settled in Belgrade, Montana, in 1968 where they lived for 37 years. There she was involved in the Belgrade Community Church, 4-H, Little League baseball, Belgrade Schools as a volunteer and employee, served as the first female council person in Belgrade for 10 years, and she was elected Belgrade’s first female Mayor. Her hobbies included reading, floral arranging, gardening, camping, fishing, computer games, card and board games, eating Mounds candy bars with a glass of wine, and listening to Willie Nelson. Barb and Jim moved to Spokane Valley, Washington, in 2005 to be nearer to family where she could finally raise and enjoy her beautiful roses, and she was active in the University SCOPE house.
Barb is survived by husband Jim; children Joyce and Gary Harbison (Spokane, WA), Michael and Carol Snider (Eugene, OR), and Dennis Snider and Karianne Stehr (Nampa, ID); grandchildren Stephen and Caroline Snider (Kent, WA), Ryan and Melissa Harbison (Spokane, WA), Aimee Snider and Seth Peterson (Tillamook, OR), and Andrew and Ashley Harbison (Gig Harbor, WA); great-granddaughters Evelyn, Emily, and Kenzington; and daughter-in-law Cami Donahue. She is also survived by sisters and brothers Melba and Billy Yates (Luray, MO), Kieth and Doris Courtney (Wayland, MO), Edwin and Linda Courtney (Miami, FL), Danial and Lina James (Williamstown, MO), David and Cathy James (Kahoka, MO), Linda and Butch Callahan (Camp Verde, AZ), Kent and Jeannette Courtney (Lake Montezuma, AZ), Terry and Rita Courtney (Rockvale, TN), Larry and Brenda Courtney (Pagosa Springs, CO), numerous nieces and nephews, and many special friends who became as close as family. She is preceded in death by her father Oval Courtney, parents Loa “Mickey” and Richard James, and sister Bonnie Jo.
An open house to celebrate Barb’s life is planned at her home in Spokane Valley, Washington, on March 5, 2016, 12 to 6 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Shriners Hospital for Children, 911 W Fifth Ave, Spokane, WA 99204; or Hospice of Spokane, PO Box 2215, Spokane, WA 99210-2215. Please visit the Community Cremation & Funeral Spokane Valley website for further information: communitycremationandfuneral.com.
