Bill Snyder

Renowned for a wit, love of golf and a fondness for bargains that rivaled his prodigious susceptibility to sweets, Bill Snyder of Sandpoint, Idaho, passed peacefully the morning of Friday, December 21, 2018.

The family feels compelled to mention that before Bill took his leave, he shared a final and profound insight: “Now, I’ll tell ya something. The price of gas going this way (pointing north) is the same as it is going that way (point south).”

Momentarily stunned, Bill’s family realized that they were, yet again, the targets of his infamous “dad jokes.” The room erupted with laughter, allowing Bill to close his eyes and sink back into the hospital bed — his expression revealing the faintest trace of a pleased smirk. As you may have deduced, Bill was “zest for life” personified. At times, this was felt in the levity he brought to social situations-reliably imparted by his trademark perma-grin and twinkling blue eyes, his set rotation of aforementioned cheesy witticisms, and (oh yes) his coin tricks. In another manifestations, his love for life was a relentless energy for household projects and travel.

Bill’s enthusiastic outlook materialized as a zeal for adventure, too. All of which stemmed from a scrappy grit acquired early in life. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, on February 12, 1929, Bill was determined to achieve his American dream, so he joined the Air Force in 1950 where he served on a B -36 crew. While stationed in Fairchild, Washington, he met his future wife Betty Snyder. Instantly smitten, he managed to secure her hand in marriage, and together they moved to Pullman, Washington. There they raised a young family as he completed a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering at Washington State University.

Western Electric recruited Bill immediately upon graduating in 1959. As a field engineer on the Ballistic Missile Defense program, his career led his family on a grand adventure across the world with assignments in the Marshall Isalnds’ Kwajalein Atoll, North Carolina, Colorado, Texas and New Jersey. Twenty-eight accomplished years later, Bill retired from Bell Labs and AT& T Technology, relocating with his wife to Hope, Idaho.

Ultimately, Bill understood that this life we live is a privilege — one that requires you to keep your eyes and heart open to all the beautiful, wonderful things it provides. He did that each and every day until his passing, surrounded by his wife , grandchildren, and brother-in-law in Newport Beach, California.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Betty Snyder; his son, Stuart Snyder; his daughter-in-law, Kristene Snyder; his three grandchildren, Ariel, Josh and Tristan Snyder; and his brother-in-law, Bruce Webster. The loved ones who preceded him in death include his son, Douglas Snyder; his daughter, Gail Snyder; and his parents, Albert and Wilma Snyder.

A memorial with family and close friends will be held in early summer at Lake Pend Oreille.