Cynthia "Cindi" L. DeTorres

Mrs. Cynthia L. “Cindi” DeTorres, 89, of Woodbury, Tennessee passed away with her family beside her on October 24, 2026. She was born in Yonkers, New York on January 12, 1937. She was preceded in death by her parents, Grover Frederick Schneider and Emma Claire Schneider, husband, Robert DeTorres, Sr., a son Christopher DeTorres, a brother, Grover Schneider, Jr., and grandchildren, Gabreial Malota and Kenney Koester, III.

She is survived by her sons, Robert (Anita) DeTorres, Jr. and Kenneth (Louise) DeTorres, daughters, Kathleen (Kenney, Jr.) Koester, Mary-Rose (Todd) Sneeringer, and Cheryl Shivel, grandchildren, Dusty DeTorres, Eric DeTorres, Alex DeTorres, Krissy Koester, Kayla Gallaher, Kyle Koester, Renee Meehan, Nicholas Shivel, Trey Sneeringer, Lucy Keller, Mike Milam, as well as eleven great grandchildren.

Born and raised in Yonkers, New York. She cultivated a love of music and decided to share it. Cindi was a member of a band who performed at one of the local VFW posts. She was involved with a young man in the military who was being deployed. A friend of his, Robert DeTorres also played in another band at the same VFW. He wanted to be sure that she was looked after while he was away, so he asked Robert to look after her. Robert took that mission so seriously that they spent the rest of their lives together. They were wed on June 26, 1954. After getting married they made their home in the Bronx. They later made a short move to Long Island, New York, which happened to still have some rural areas for those families to enjoy outside the Big Apple.

Robert was in the Navy and was attached to a Seabees unit. He spent 18 years in the Navy, achieving the rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer at the time of his departure from the service. After leaving the service he worked as a union sheet metal fabricator. He often had to travel to find work. Anytime one job ended and he was laid off; he made sure to bring Cindi home a big bunch of roses to smooth over any ruffled feathers caused by the uncertainty of his work. He knew happy wife equals happy life. He certainly did a good job keeping her happy for those 67 years of marriage.

One of the jobs he landed carried him all the way to Florida. He was working on some of the projects developing Disney World. At that point he and Cindi decided to make the move to Florida permanently. In 1974 they pulled up stakes in New York to set down roots in Florida. The older children, Robert, Jr. and Kathleen got the experience of living in New York. The younger children, Cheryl, Mary-Rose, and Kenneth got the experience of living in Florida.

Cindi loved family get togethers. Christmas being top of the list. She would spend a significant amount of time and energy every year transforming her home into a Christmas wonderland. Complete with her impressive collection of Santas. One keynote about the collection, she, was particular about the Santa’s having their feet showing. On Christmas morning the family would gather at her and Robert’s home for a day filled with laughter and love.

She was blessed with a green thumb. She put it to good use with flower gardening and vegetable gardening. Although Robert used his skills to cook whatever they harvested. Her hands also stayed busy knitting. She created many treasured family pieces to share with her children and grandchildren. The grandchildren lovingly dubbed her Nana and Nanny, while the great grandchildren called her GG. Also passing along her skills to the family who were best suited to them.

Over the years, the Family had many fun vacations. The most special vacations were reserved for she and Robert though. Their dream vacations included trips to Italy and Ireland. They were also frequent cruise goers, traveling all through the Caribbean and other fun stops. Her favorite drink of choice on the cruises or at home was a cold Bud Light.

The family will never be quite the same after her departure from this world. They do have many happy and loving memories and traditions to remember and share to keep her spirit alive for the generations to come.

Her wish was to be cremated and rejoined with her beloved husband. The family will hold a celebration of her life in Florida soon. Share stories and condolences at www.gentrysmithfuneralhome.com Gentry-Smith Funeral Home, 303 Murfreesboro Rd. Woodbury, TN 37190, 615-563-5337. Because every life has a story.