Beloved Bensalem Educator Remembered With Tree Planting

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA —Nearly one year after her passing, a tree has been planted in memory of the late Bensalem Township School Board member Heather Ody-Snyder.

School officials said the tree was planted and unveiled last week in front of the Dorothy D. Call Administrative Center.

The tree was donated by the Lehman family in memory of Ody-Snyder, who was a beloved Bensalem teacher, principal, and school board director.

Schools Superintendent Samuel Lee, Lamar Snyder, Sadie Elliott, Jessica Ody, Julie Lehman, Jamie Lehman, and Gary Lehman were among those who attended the tree planting ceremony.

Ody-Snyder had been a member of the school board when she died last October.

Snyder served on the school board since 2019 after a lengthy career in education.

When her first husband, Arnold Ody, passed away, Snyder finished his term on the Bensalem Council. Then, in 2019 when asked to run for the school board, she did.

Ody-Snyder first served as the assistant principal of Armstrong Middle School before becoming principal at Rush Elementary School, then Shafer Middle School, and finally at Struble Elementary School.

Upon her retirement from the Bensalem School District in 2006 and with 35 years of service in education, she began working with the Pennsylvania Department of Education and PACTA, where she managed a group of Distinguished School Leaders in the Career and Technical Education fields, as well as organized and presented professional development opportunities for those with whom she worked.

(Photo Courtesy of the Bensalem Township School District)