Elizabeth McBride

Elizabeth A. McBride (nee Hummel), aged 81, of Wayne, died after a brief illness from complications of Coronavirus on Friday, April 24, 2020.

Born in Englewood, New Jersey and raised in Teaneck, Elizabeth, or “Betty Ann” as she was affectionately called, was the oldest of six children of the late George James Hummel and the late Catherine Margaret Hummel (nee Thompson).  She dearly loved all her siblings; Cathy, Karen, George, Mary, and Patty, and they formed a special bond after they lost their mother to cancer when Betty Ann was just thirteen years old.  This close relationship with her siblings continued throughout her life.  Betty Ann graduated from Holy Family High School in Union City in 1956.

While working as an executive secretary at the Chrysler Building in NYC, she met her first husband, Robert Snyder.  Betty Ann and Bob married in 1957, lived in multiple places in New Jersey and upstate New York, had five children together, and eventually settled in Wayne Township in 1967.

Betty Ann met her second husband, Robert McBride, through a personal friend.  They hit it off immediately, married in 1986 and went on to have a happy life together until Bob’s death in 2003.  Bob and Betty Ann had their dream home built in Crystal Springs in Hamburg, NJ, right near the 8th hole of the golf course and loved to entertain friends and family there.  Many great parties were held at that location.  They both loved the game of golf and continued to play regularly until Bob’s illness.  They even golfed in various vacation destinations, including Ireland and Hawaii.  Traveling, dining out and watching Broadway shows were a big part of their life, and they often included family members and friends, while generously paying for everything.  It was very typical for their children and spouses to receive Broadway tickets to a show as a Christmas gift.  One highlight that stands out is when Bob and Betty Ann took their children and grandchildren to Radio City Musical Hall in NYC to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.  It gave them great joy when all of their kids, spouses, and grandkids attended the show together and shared dinner afterwards.

Betty Ann’s Christmas Eve Party was an annual tradition until the last ten years of her life and was held in Wayne, and later in Hamburg after she relocated there.  These parties had quite a turnout, and in the earlier years included her siblings as well as her children.  Friends and neighbors would also show up at this party and people looked forward to it every year.  In the later years, when her brother and sisters had their own families, the number of people became smaller, but then surged again when her children started having their children.

Betty Ann moved into an assisted living facility during the last two years, living out her last days at The Bristal Assisted Living at Wayne, having come full circle back to the town her children called home.  She was a truly kind and loving person and could strike up a conversation with the most introverted stranger and turn them into a friend.  Betty Ann had a beautiful smile that would light up a room and she had a very distinct, infectious laugh.  She was immensely proud of her children and would typically tell the waiter or waitress at a restaurant who they were and where they lived, especially when dining with children that were not local to New Jersey.  She seemed to call everyone she met “Honey” and was very sincere.

Betty Ann will be sadly missed by all her family and will never be forgotten.  She lived a very full and happy life despite setbacks she suffered earlier in her life.  Betty Ann is survived by her children, Robert Snyder and his wife Jodi of East Kingston, New Hampshire, Ellen Fattal and her husband George of Wayne, NJ, Amy Kazanjian and her husband Robert of Howell, NJ, Keith Snyder and his wife Laura of Totowa, NJ, Brian Snyder and his wife Beth of Braintree, Massachusetts, her stepsons Robert McBride and his wife Cindy of Negley, Ohio and Mike McBride of Linden, New Jersey, her grandchildren Jeremy Snyder, Erynne Fuller, Sean Snyder, Amanda Morgan, Alicia Velasquez, Nicole Swinton, Dan Kazanjian, Keith Snyder, Jr., Amy Snyder, Alyssa Snyder, Grace Snyder, Stephanie Snyder, Caroline Snyder, Conner McBride, Keri Anne McBride and 15 great-grandchildren.

Also her beloved sisters Cathy Hogel of Totowa, Karen Rieger (Tom) of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, Mary Smit of Tampa, Florida, Patty Branigan of Lake Hopatcong, NJ, her sisters-in-law Rose Anne Iannucci (Lou) of Rivervale, NJ and Rita McBride of Tulsa, Oklahoma and many friends will miss her dearly.  She was predeceased by her brother, George Hummel, in 1987 and her first husband, Robert Snyder in 1996.