Carla Ann Harding-Snyder (nee Fulton) departed this earth from Lawton, Oklahoma on the 2nd of May, 2023, at the age of 73 and now resides in the loving embrace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  There is no doubt that she has heard our Lord's welcome, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!  (Matthew 25:21 KJV)

She was born in Laramie, Wyoming on 26 July, 1949 and was the oldest daughter to parents Carl and Agnes.  She completed public school in Laramie and attended college in Denver, Colorado.  Carla had one sibling, a younger sister Caren Lee (59), who also passed ahead of her time.

Carla had a varied and exciting career, having worked at Little America Hotel in Cheyenne, WY, the Playboy Club in Denver, CO, and as a police officer and deputy sheriff in three different Colorado jurisdictions.  Carla enlisted in the U.S. Navy reserve for eight years and left as a Petty Officer 3rd Class.  She served aboard Naval Station Yokosuka, Japan and aboard a USN aircraft carrier.  She completed a twenty-eight year career as a civil servant for the United States Army Field Artillery School aboard Fort Sill, OK.  Carla received many awards over her years of service to the U.S. Army, the most proud of which was the Molly Pitcher Award for her contributions to the U.S. Field Artillery.  There are many Army and Marine Corps colonels who will remember Carla as the sweet lady who processed them as second lieutenants and who asked each one if she could pray for their safety and success.  Carla was a proud American patriot and staunch conservative who was gravely disappointed in "that Rat Joe Biden!"

A devout Christian, Carla was a converted Roman Catholic who was baptized in 1977 as a Protestant Southern Baptist.  She was active in various volunteer groups and donated her monthly tithe to organizations ranging from feeding the poor to homeless veterans.  Her favorite color was turquoise, her favorite song was the "Sultans of Swing", and her favorite food was the medium rare ribeye from Outback Steakhouse.  There was never a morning where she didn't arm herself in the full Armor of God, nor an evening where she didn't pray to our Lord to protect and save her children and grandchildren.  Her Savior Jesus Christ was first and foremost in her life and she raised her children in her faith.  When her sons joined the Marine Corps and began travelling to places far and wide, she embraced Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it".  (And they haven't)

Carla had a great sense of humor and was always quick with a joke, sometimes rather baudy; which was in stark contrast to her very cultivated image as a proper Christian lady.
Carla was active until the end, with her favorite hobby working in her yard and garden.  She would collect clothes for the poor and often distribute them to some of the homeless she met.  To her sons' chagrin, Carla would often take the risk of not just feeding a homeless person she just met, but load them up in her car and take them to lunch.  God (and her .38 Special) protected her every time.

Carla was unmarried at the time of her passing and was preceded in death by her parents, Captain Carl Joseph Fulton, USMC/USA (Ret) (*63) and Mrs. Agnes Elizabeth Fulton (63) in 1989 and 1992 respectively.  (*Carl was a Native American Nez Perce who was born without a birth certificate.  He lived his entire life without a birthday, but was presumed to have been born "around" 1926).  She is survived by her sons; retired Master Gunnery Sergeant Cody Harding (52) and veteran Corporal Micah Snyder (40); Cody's wife Charlene Marie; her grandchildren, Alyssa Payge (26), Keely Shay (23) and her grandson Ian Jacob (22).

There will be no services for Carla, which was her wish as she did not want her friends to spend their time and resources to travel the country for "an old dead lady".  She would remind you that your prayers helped get her to Heaven, but don't waste them on her now.  Please pray for the things that she prayed for which were the poor, the homeless, the United States and her military, and your own salvation.  She will be cremated and wanted her ashes scattered with her mother in Wyoming and her father in Oklahoma.  In lieu of flowers she requested that donations can be made in her name to the charity of your choice (so long as it's not the Democratic Party!!!)