Esther Lavelle Snyder (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Johnson) (January 7, 1920 – August 4, 2006) was an American businesswoman. She co-founded

In-N-Out Burger In-N-Out Burger is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants with locations primarily in California and the Southwest. It was founded in Baldwin Park, California, in 1948 by Harry (1913–1976) and Esther Snyder (1920–2006). The cha ...

, with her husband

Harry Snyder Harry Snyder (September 9, 1913 – December 14, 1976) was a Canadian-born businessman. He founded In-N-Out Burger along with his wife Esther Snyder. Snyder was one of the first people to develop the idea of a drive-through hamburger restaurant ...

, in 1948.

Early life

Snyder was born and raised in Sorento, Illinois, as one of eight children (seven daughters, one son). She attended

Greenville College Greenville University is a private university in Greenville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church. Established as Greenville College in 1892, the institution was renamed Greenville University in 2017. History In 1855, Stephe ...

and graduated from

Seattle Pacific University Seattle Pacific University (SPU) is a private Christian university in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1891 in conjunction with the Oregon and Washington Conference of the Free Methodist Church as the Seattle Seminary. It became the Seat ...

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Marriage and family

She met

in 1947, while working at a restaurant in Seattle; the two were married the following year and moved to

Baldwin Park, California Baldwin Park is a city located in the central San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,176, down from 75,390 at the 2010 census. History Baldwin Park began as p ...

. Esther and Harry Snyder had two sons: Harry Guy (more commonly referred to as simply "Guy"; born 1951) and Richard Snyder (born 1952) and one granddaughter from their first son Guy: Lynsi (born 1982). Esther outlived her husband, who died in 1976 and both of their sons, one of whom died in a plane crash and the other of a drug overdose.

Death

Snyder died on August 4, 2006, in

, aged 86, from undisclosed causes. Her only grandchild, Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson, is now the heiress to the In-N-Out Burger company.

Esther Snyder Community Center

Since In-N-Out Burger was started in the city of Baldwin Park, the city named its community center after Esther Snyder.

Early life

Marriage and family

Death

Esther Snyder Community Center

References

Further reading