Elizabeth Christein Snider was born in Ogden, Illinois on November 11, 1930 to Alice (Skinner) and Marion Christein. Although her clever mind and artistic acumen were apparent from the start, these young parents in rural Illinois could certainly not have envisioned the life in store for their small baby girl. Elizabeth and her parents moved to Indianapolis, Indiana where she attended Howe High School and at age seventeen married Stanley W. Snider, from Pleasant View, Indiana. By the time these two were 20 years old they had two children. They were equally aspirational and strategized to achieve shared goals. As a young mother, Liz served as president of the PTA and engaged in many creative pursuits such as making costumes for dance performances, designing and sewing clothes, and painting backdrops and murals for school performances.
In 1965, the family moved to Shreveport, Louisiana where she began working as an interior designer for Hemenway Home Furnishers. Her innovative designs and charismatic personality quickly generated a clientele and, at the age of 37 having already been married for 20 years, she transformed herself from a 1950-60’s housewife into a 1970-80’s glamour girl. Once known as Betty Ann, she now was called Liz. She became a blond, moved into a downtown Chicago high-rise located between Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue, drove a Porsche sports coupe, and worked for Futorian Manufacturing Corporation as a furniture designer. One of her most successful early designs was the now ubiquitous shearling bean bag chair.
While in Chicago, she remarried twice. First, to David Haid, acclaimed architect and protege of Mies Van Der Rohe, and later married war hero and successful business man Alan Drey, founder of Alan Drey Company (AdCo). Liz and Drey maintained homes in the Water Tower in Chicago and on Island Drive in Key Biscayne. Liz opened her own business, The City Child, retailing high-end American and French children’s clothing. She traveled the world as an accessory buyer in the early days of Pier One Imports and IKEA. She participated in a Porsche Road Rally through France, cruised the Yangtze River through China, took the Blue Train from Pretoria to Cape Town in Africa, toured the major cities of Europe, Scandinavia and Russia. Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing was a passion. She worked as a volunteer in Ecuador’s Andean Highlands recording native weaving and dyeing techniques. She, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan and the actor Jane Seymour, served as co-chairs of the National Alzheimer’s Association Rita Hayworth Gala in Chicago. She approached life with exuberant spirit and great vigor.
In 1990, Liz divorced Drey, then briefly moved to Key Biscayne before arriving in Santa Fe. She opened her store, The Elizabeth Drey Collection, on Galisteo Street and sold hand-crafted leather furniture of her own design. These original creations appeared in Architectural Digest and were sold internationally. After Sante Fe, Liz moved to Montecito, California to live on the beach with her beloved Puli, Gabor. She later returned to New Mexico living briefly in Cochiti Lake then Albuquerque. In 2017, she moved to EdenHill Communities in New Braunfels, Texas, to be near her son and his family. She died on May 18, 2022.
Liz was preceded in death by her son, Ronald Snider (Carol) of New Braunfels, Texas. She is survived by her daughter, Stana Snider (Daniel) McKitrick of Santa Fe; by her sister, Petrine Christein (Garold) Ashley of Chicago; by her grandchildren Rivers Elizabeth Sears of Los Angeles, Christopher (Marsha) Snider of New Braunfels, and Megan Snider (James) Lowe of New Braunfels; by great-grandchildren Eli, Charlotte and Stana Lowe, and Lily and Cooper Snider all of New Braunfels; by niece and nephew Jessica Ashley of Chicago and Seth (Sharon) Ashley of Glen Allen, Virginia.
Those who wish to honor Liz with donations are asked to consider Alzheimer’s Association, Hope Hospice of New Braunfels or Puli Club of America Rescue Trust.
Source: https://herald-zeitung.com/obituaries/elizabeth-snider-drey/article_7a6e5dba-03ad-11ed-a88a-bb2609f75ce2.html
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