Janine (Snyder) Elder

A memorial service for Janine (Snyder) Elder will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Thursday, March 11, 2021, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Portales with Fr. Larry Mote officiating.  Due to the limited capacity of the church, attendance will be limited to family and close friends.  The service will be live-streamed at www.wheelermortuary.net.

Janine (Snyder) Elder entered into the kingdom of heaven on March 7, 2021. Born on October 8, 1953, in Carroll, Iowa to Herbert and Doris Snyder, Janine graduated from Carroll Kuemper High School in 1971. After graduating from high school, she attended the University of Northern Iowa. It was there that she met Donald C. (Doc) Elder, and the two were married on August 10, 1974. Receiving her teaching certificate from UNI in 1976, Janine then taught 5th and 6th grade in Vinton, Iowa, until the birth of her son Cam in 1980. She then went to work at the public library in Vinton until her husband was accepted into the graduate program in History at the University of California—San Diego in 1983. She was  employed at the Science and Engineering Library at UCSD until 1989, when her husband accepted a teaching position at the University of Redlands in Redlands, California. From 1989 to 1995, she served as the assistant director of the Redlands Day Nursery. In 1995 her husband accepted a position at Eastern New Mexico University, and upon moving to Portales Janine became the assistant director of the  Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce. After working for the Chamber of Commerce, she became the director of the federally funded Youth Opportunities Program, and then in 2011 became an administrative assistant in the Human Resources Department at Eastern New Mexico University. She worked there until her passing.

During her years in Portales, she served as an officer for ENMU Women, Altrusa, PEO, Delta Kappa Gamma, and Roosevelt County Little League. Janine received a Spirit of Eastern Award in 2020 from ENMU, and was the Greyhound Club Member of the Year in 2017. She was a faithful member of the congregation of Trinity Episcopal Church, and served as the parish’s treasurer.

Janine is survived by her husband, her son Cam and his partner Amy, her son Brian and his wife Holly, her sister Denise Muhlbauer and her husband Leon, her sister-in-law Laurie Ledford, two nieces, and two nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions instead be made to the Eastern Women Lovers for Learning Scholarship Program.

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