John C. Snider, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., passed away on Oct. 13, at Hospice of West Alabama. The family will announce a memorial service at a later date.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Ruth Snider.
He is survived by his devoted wife, Alex Snider; daughters, Rhonda Holley (Skip) of Morehead, Ky., and Maria Jones (Scott) of Huntington, W. Va.; son, John Snider, Jr. (Kim) of Ft. CollinsO; sister, Sue Vandegriff of Colorado Springs; six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
John was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, and attended Huntington East High School in Huntington. He attended Murray State University in Murray, Ky., where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He then attended Florida State University in Tallahassee where he earned his PhD.
After spending three years in the U.S. Army, John enjoyed a career in education that spanned more than forty years. Beginning in 1970, he spent 20 years at Colorado State University as associate academic vice president and director of Continuing Education. He later served as vice chancellor of the Colorado Sate University System. In 1990, he moved to Tuscaloosa, Ala., where he served as dean of the College of Continuing Studies at the University of Alabama for nearly 12 years.
He was honored with several awards during his career including the ‘Distinguished Alumnus Award’ from Murray State University, and the ‘Julius M. Nolte Award’- the National University Continuing Education Association’s highest leadership award.
During his academic career, he authored ore than 20 publications and provided oversight for five funded grants. His research included the development of a simulation-game in the 1970’s that was used by thousands of community leaders to better understand the techniques of program-planning at the community level.
His local community involvement included active membership in the Rotary Club of Tuscaloosa where he served as president in 2006. In 1993, he chaired the annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa and served as a deacon and elder.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to “Clean Water Projects” c/o First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa, 900 Greensboro Avenue, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35401; “The John C. Snider Endowed Scholarship” c/o The University of Alabama, College of Continuing Studies, Box 870388, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487; and Hospice of West Alabama 3851 Loop Rd. Tuscaloosa, AL 35404.
Tuscaloosa Memorial Park and Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
