Gloria Zuidmulder

Gloria Jean "Snooky" Black Zuidmulder (80) of Green Bay, Wisconsin passed away on Saturday, February 4th, 2023 after a short illness. Snooky was born December 28, 1942 to Jack and Bobbie (McCoy) Black in Jackson, Mississippi. She arrived while her father was deployed overseas in the European theatre, so like many wartime babies, she had to wait a few years to meet her daddy. When he returned home in 1945, she quickly became the apple of his eye and he affectionately nicknamed her Snooky, which is what she came to be known by. Snooky was the cherished first grandbaby of Huey Bird McCoy (Papa Bird) and Kate Rush McCoy (Mama Kate), with whom she was especially close. She had wonderful memories of time spent on the family farm in Newton, Mississippi, surrounded by doting aunts, uncles, and cousins.


Snooky's father became superintendent of the Chicago and Northwestern Lakeshore train division, moving his family north to Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1956. Snooky was midway through 9th grade when she began attending Franklin Junior High School. As luck and the alphabet would have it, the open desk in algebra class was behind a boy with the last name of Zuidmulder. When he passed his quiz to her for grading, she eventually passed it back, noting in her sweet, southern drawl, "You're not very good at this...but I can help if you want". Those words began a love story that would last 67 years, as Snooky and Don were rarely apart from that moment on. Snooky was accepted to Ole Miss, but as the story goes, she wasn't even there long enough to receive the yellow roses Don had sent before she was on a train back to Wisconsin. Snooky transferred to and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1965 with degrees in Home Economics and Journalism.


Snooky and Don were united in marriage on June 11, 1965 at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Green Bay. While Don was in law school, Snooky supported him by working in a few different offices, including a position as the office manager of the High Energy Physics lab at UW Madison. After Don finished law school, they eventually moved from Madison back to Green Bay. In 1971, they adopted their son, Hank, when he was 13 days old, thus beginning her joyful tenure as the most loving and devoted mother ever. Two years later, Christian (Luckey) was born, adding exponentially to her happiness, and then Kate came along three years after that, filling her heart to the brim. Over the years, her boundless love spilled over to all of their friends, filling in as a surrogate mother whenever one was needed. Snooky had the ability to make every person she met feel special and cared for.


After Kate started school, Snooky began her invaluable work as Don's paralegal. She later worked in the offices at UWGB and the Brown County Aging and Disability Resource Center. Her organizational skills coupled with her warm personality made her a favorite wherever she worked.


Over time, Snooky welcomed two daughters-in-law (Angela and Melissa) and a son-in-law (Chris Hearden) into her family, making them feel as cherished as her own children. Her loving arms opened wide to each grandchild as they came into her life through births, marriages and adoptions, making each one feel like the most special child in the world. Even the granddogs were treated like royalty when they were around 'Nanny'. She was the cheerleader at every event, the shoulder we all cried on, and the sunshine we all needed.


Snooky is survived by her loving husband of 57 years, Donald Robert Zuidmulder, and her children and their families; Hank and Angela (Ethan and Lane), Christian and Melissa, and Kate and Chris (Zach, Maya, Christian, and Mena). She is further survived by her brother, Jim Black, of California, as well as her many beloved southern relatives. The family would like to thank all of Snooky's many wonderful friends over the years who all brought her great joy, especially Christine Larson, who in recent years made sure to check in on both Snooky and Don regularly, and never failed to leave them laughing.

Visitation will take place Friday, February 10th, 2023 from 4-7 pm at Newcomer Funeral Home, 340 S. Monroe Ave. Green Bay, continuing Saturday, February 11th from 9-11 am at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 341 Wilson Ave. Green Bay, with services to follow at 11:00 am. For those who cannot attend in person, the service will be livestreamed at Click Here to view the service.via the St Paul's United Methodist YouTube channel.