Lenni Whitney

Lenni (Ellen Annette Snyder) Whitney, 79, was born April 16, 1945 in Endicott, NY, the second of seven children, a daughter of the late George and Mary (Ryan) Snyder. Lenni loved her children, her brothers and sisters, family and lifelong friendsand music. She played piano by ear from an early age, studied music theory and won recognition for a composition setting "The Knights Tomb," a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, to a modern melody. She also wrote numerous waltzes for piano. She loved to sing and had a "voice that could tame the menagerie," a long-time friend once wrote. She often named Van Cliburn and Frederic Chopin among her favorite composer-pianists. She graduated Tioga Central High School, Class of 1963, and earned her Secondary English degree at SUNY Fredonia, as well as Masters degrees in Early Childhood Education, Secondary English and Reading K-12 from SUNY Fredonia and SUC Buffalo, where she later taught. An advocate of lifelong learning, Lenni helped shaped the lives of untold hundreds of studentswho knew her as "Ms. Lenni"from preschool to K-12, in Music, Reading, English and other subjects. She most loved teaching Remedial Reading, and always remembered her earliest students at Mayville Central School. Lenni was adventurous at heart, and passed her wanderlust to her children through spontaneous trips to places near and far, exploring wherever a tank of gas would take them on a weekend. She dreamed of seeing the world and immersed herself in books and movies that allowed her to travel without limits. Lenni kept her creative mind sharp and active writing poetry, short stories, letters and drafts of novels, and journals chronicling the world around her. Her children remember fondly the imaginative lunch-bag designs and Christmas packages she would decorate. She lived most of her adult life in Western New York, and resided in Buffalo during her later years. She attended the Wesleyan Church of Hamburg for many years, sang in choirs and played piano at services in various churches wherever she lived, maintaining her Christian faith throughout her life. Lenni is survived by her children, Amy Samuelson (Lancaster, SC) and Michael Whitney (Austin, TX); brother Duane (Laura) Snyder; sister-in-law Nancy Snyder; sister Laurie (Ken) Turley; brother Randy Snyder (Kathy Burrows); and many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her partner Alan Campbell; her mother and father; sisters Joan (Fred) Cady and Carol Snyder (Kip Hibbard); brother Glenn Snyder; and son-in-law, Steve Samuelson. She died with her children at her side at Buffalo General Hospital, May 1, 2024. In lieu of a service at this time, those who wish to honor Lennis memory may contribute in her name to a local food bank, animal shelter or music-education program.