A Life of Service

Aldene Snider died peacefully in her continuing care home, surrounded by loving family and staff. Aldene was born on her family’s farm near Oil Springs, Ontario, during the Great Depression. Always a gentle soul, she lived a rich and enriching 90 years, dedicating her life to the service of God.

Aldene trained as a nurse and she left Ontario in 1955 to move to the North where she fell in love with the people and her soon-to-be husband, Ken Snider. Aldene single-handedly ran a nursing station in Hay River, NWT in the mid-1950s and was later a public health nurse in Dawson City. Aldene was Archdeacon Ken Snider’s loving and dedicated partner over their 55-year marriage, until Ken died in 2013. She and Ken lived and worked in many communities in the Yukon, Saskatchewan and the Mackenzie Delta region of the Northwest Territories, until they retired in Dawson in 1998. In early 2016, Aldene relocated to Whitehorse to be closer to family—and then moved into continuing care in 2017.

 Ever patient and kind, Aldene served others with her quiet compassion; her no fuss, no muss way that included making meals, offering a bed for the night, giving people clothing from the Thrift Shop and offering a listening ear. She would set a place at the table for anyone who needed a meal, or who showed up unexpectedly. Aldene was well-known for her sourdough pancakes, made from sourdough starter that came over the Chilkoot Trail during the Klondike Gold Rush that was gifted to her in 1967. She made thousands of sourdough pancakes and countless cookies and pies for her family—and for the community at large. In every way, Aldene lived a life of service

The Snider family would like to thank the staff at Copper Ridge Place, specifically the team on the Forget-Me-Not Unit, for their compassionate care for our mother over the past year and a half—and for the care they provided to our family during our mom’s end of life. We would also like to thank the staff at the Thomson Centre and Macaulay Lodge, as well as Dr. Adrienne Mayes for quietly supporting Mom in the background. Thank you to all of our family and friends who buoyed us up through our difficult journey with dementia; we had said a thousand goodbyes to Mom before our final goodbye. A special thank you to the Venerable Sarah Usher for showing up when we—and our mother—needed her the most, at all hours of the day and night. And to the compassionate staff at the Heritage North Funeral Home, thank you.


Aldene is survived by her children: John, Peter, Hope, Grace (George), Paul (Christine), and Richard (Jody), her grandchildren: Josh (Desiree), Jarvis (Shelby), Liam, Hailey, Rachel and Carter, her great grandchildren: Markus, Kaden and Lileth, her sister, Nancy and her niece and nephews Gary, Grant, Connie and Bryan. Aldene is predeceased by her husband, Kenneth Snider, her father, Charles Gadsby, her mother, Gertrude Gadsby (nee Dawson), her infant brother, Charles Gadsby, and her sisters, Phyllis Gadsby and Mary Louise Piggott (nee Gadsby).

The beauty and the love remain. Always.

Funeral Service: Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 2:00 PM, reception to follow, Christ Church Cathedral, Whitehorse.

Closed Casket Visitation: Monday, September 20, 2021, 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM St. Paul's Church, Dawson.

Graveside Service: Monday, September 20, 2021, 4:00 PM at YOOP Cemetery, Dawson City.

COVID restrictions will be in place. Please maintain physical distancing or wear your mask.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. Thank you.