Selma Oppleman Snyder

Virginia Beach – Selma Oppleman Snyder passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by her family, just four months shy of her 100th birthday.

To know Selma was to know a woman who was truly unforgettable. Iconic, elegant, beautiful, opinionated and fierce…Selma possessed a presence all her own. She moved through nearly a century of life with remarkable strength, grace, style, and an unmistakable spirit. She knew who she was, she knew what she believed, and she was never particularly shy about sharing it.

Raised in the mountains of Lynchburg, Va. by parents Ida Schewel and Joe Oppleman, Selma attended James Madison College before beginning the extraordinary life that would ultimately become her greatest legacy: her family.

She raised five children with her former husband, Harry L. Snyder, and was a devoted mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She is survived by her son Louie, his wife Caroliine, her daughter Terrie, and Tricia and her husband Michael…her six beloved grandchildren, Olympia, Mackenzie, Michelle, Lauren, Jennifer, and Cody; eight great grandchildren, each of whom brought her enormous pride and joy.

Family was the center of Selma’s world, but her remarkable capacity for connection extended far beyond it. Throughout her long life, she cultivated and treasured many enduring friendships. People were drawn to her infectious spirit, her graciousness, her beauty, her wit, and her singular sense of style. She had that rare quality of being remembered – not simply for how she looked or what she wore, but for how unmistakably SELMA she was.

She belonged to another era in so many of the loveliest ways: Elegance mattered, graciousness mattered, friendship mattered, and family mattered most of all. Yet, there was nothing fragile about her. Beneath all that elegance was a tremendous strength – a woman who lived fully, loved deeply, endured the loss of two of her precious children, spoke her mind, and remained fiercely and unapologetically herself throughout nearly one hundred remarkable years.

Her family will remember her devotion. Her friends will remember her loyalty and sage advice.

Selma will be deeply and sorely missed, but the grace, strength and love she gave to those around her will live on through the generations of the family she so dearly loved.

Memorial donations may be made to the Dozoretz Hospice House of Virginia Beach or to a charity of one’s choice.

A memorial service took place at H.D Oliver in Virginia Beach.