Delaware
Widow of fallen Delaware state trooper launches foundation in his memory
The widow of a Delaware state trooper killed in the line of duty last year has launched a foundation in his memory to support families of law enforcement officers.
Two months ago, Lauren Snook’s world looked different. Her husband, Corporal Grade One Matthew T. “Ty” Snook, a devoted father, husband, and friend, filled their house with laughter and love. Then in an instant, everything changed.
“He just went to work one day and didn’t get to come home,” Lauren told NBC10.
Two days before Christmas, Cpl/1 Snook, a 10-year veteran, was killed while working an overtime shift at the DMV in Wilmington, Delaware.
Lauren said that she was at their home, making salt dough ornaments in the kitchen with Letty, their 15-month-old daughter.
“When the two Tahoes pulled up out in front of my house. You know it, you see it in movies, you hear about it, and I knew. But I didn’t want to, and it took about 7 times for them to tell me he’s gone,” Lauren shared.
Lauren said the life they built together is now marked by a painful reality, learning to live without him. She clings to the memories and a bear with his uniform that Letty calls “Dada Bear.”
“On a quiet day, it’s totally ugly. I’ll grab his clothes that no longer have his scent, wear them, hold them, cry in his closet, grab his deodorant, dryer sheets, his cologne and make this scent cocktail, and I’m like bring me Ty back for a second and I’ll look at pictures, and then I look over at that cute little girl and see her smile and immediately see him because they share the same smile,” said Lauren.
Lauren explains that the grief isn’t just in the big moments; it’s in the quiet ones, too. She said Letty can feel it also.
“She knows. She waits by the baby gate at the top of the stairs. She grabs his shoes and sits in them so she knows. Before she knows her name,” Lauren said.
Lauren said that following Cpl/1 Snook’s death, she leaned on her faith and the support from others to help her through it.
“People have given so much of themselves, their heart to us, it’s a gift I know I can never repay, but it’s forever touched and shaped who I am,” said Lauren.
Through heartbreak, Lauren is choosing to turn pain into purpose by starting the “Ty Snook Foundation,” a community for families and children of law enforcement officers navigating life after losing a parent.
Lauren said, “Headlines fade, people go back to real life, but this is going to be Letty’s forever, it’s forever going to shape who she is, and I’m a firm believer that the community shaped us, and she needs her own community to talk about loss.”
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Ciro Poppiti has transformed himself into Founding Father Caesar Rodney.
Poppiti is a lawyer, National Guardsman, actor and the elected register of wills in Delaware’s New Castle County — the same office Rodney once held in his county.
On June 12 and 13, Poppiti will ride horseback from Delaware to Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, retracing Rodney’s historic 1776 journey that helped secure support for American independence.
Rodney raced through a storm after learning at midnight that he needed to break a tie in Delaware’s delegation on the vote for independence from England.
“You’ve got to get to Philadelphia by three o’clock, four o’clock the next day,” Poppiti said while portraying Rodney. “The gavel is coming in otherwise everything you have done is now destroyed.”
Rodney famously wore a green scarf to hide a cancerous formation on his face.
While Rodney rode horse trails from Dover to Philadelphia, Poppiti’s route will follow modern roads, including Route 13 through Claymont and Delaware County before heading up Passyunk Avenue to Independence Hall.
Poppiti said the ride is taking place in June because the actual anniversary in early July will coincide with World Cup events in Philadelphia.
Well-trained Amish horses and a buggy will accompany the ride to help make the trip safer on busy modern roads.
Rodney remains a controversial figure for some because his family owned slaves on their Kent County farm.
During protests following George Floyd’s death in 2020, Rodney’s statue was removed from Rodney Square in Wilmington. The statue is now displayed in Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C.
“We have critics, critics who want to damn Caesar Rodney because he had slaves and they should,” Poppiti said. “We embrace those who are critical of Rodney because those who are critical of him are helping us and they’re fulfilling our mission. Our mission is to tell the whole story warts and all and to expose the fact that it was all people of all colors that helped make the greatest upset in world history happen.”
More information about the reenactment ride, including related events such as a gala and concert, is available at 250ride.org.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.
“I grow old gracefully,” said Susan Young Browne, who just received permission to keep driving until 115 years old.
That’s a testament to Browne enduring aptitude (and attitude) for life; having recently celebrated her 108th Birthday at the Modern Maturity Center in Dover, Delaware.
Browne was in Delaware in 1918 during Segregation where she worked on a farm with her family sans water or electricity. She would eventually attend Delaware State College for Colored Students, today known as Delaware State University, and graduate in 1945, going on to teach in a one-room school house.
Married twice, she enjoys the company of a clan of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Nowadays, she can be found three times a work at the Modern Maturity Center where she enjoys group exercise classes; staying active is a key to that graceful aging she mentioned.
“When I get up in the morning, I have an exercise routine that I’ve been doing for the last 20 years,” she said. “When I retired and I walked around that classroom for 30 years, I am not going to sit down.”
SPRITELY ELDERS:
130 people attended her birthday party, including the Delaware Governor Matt Meyer, where she was gifted a parking spot right in front of the building reserved for those 100 years or older.
That’s important, because as Ms. Browne told those assembled to celebrate her life, the state had just reissued her driver’s license until 2033.
WATCH the story below from CBS News…
SHARE Ms. Susan Brown With Your Friends Who Need a Little Inspiration…
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