Interment: will follow at 2:00 p.m. at the Lee Cemetery in Colstrip.
Our dear brother and uncle, Robert Bob Snider passed away Thursday, February 24, 2011 at Laurel Health and Rehab in Laurel, MT.
He was the fourth of five sons born to Ira Ward Snider and Alta "Marie Hathaway on August 21, 1925. Marie traveled back to Buchanan, MI to have her baby and then returned to the family ranch on Rosebud Creek, Mt as soon as Bob could travel.
Bob was raised with his 3 older brothers on the family ranch. As the youngest at the time, Bob was prone to mischief. He fell head-first into a rain barrel and would have drowned if he hadnt been rescued by his ever vigilant mother. At the age of 3, he climbed to the top of a kitchen cabinet that was near the ceiling. He was able to reach the hidden bottle of lye but was unable to open it before his mother retrieved it. In another incident, Bobs older brothers talked him into putting his nose over the grinder when they were grinding horseradish. You can imagine the result from that! Bob attended the McKay County School located 1 mile up the road until the age of 10, in 1935, when his family returned to Buchanan. Surviving a mischievous childhood, Bob spent his spare time quietly tinkering with radios.
Upon graduating from Buchanan High School in 1943, Bob enlisted in the Navy during World War II. He served on a LSMR (rocket launcher ship) loading the ammunition. He was on Ship 197 during the invasion of Okinawa as portrayed on the cover of Life Magazine. His mother was able to determine where he was located because of this.Following the war, Bob started college at Montana State College in Bozeman and earned a degree in electrical engineering. He was recruited from college by Bendix and went to work designing car radios in Towson, MD. Later, he went to work for Chrysler in Huntsville, AL where he stayed until retirement.Bob enjoyed coin collecting, golfing, and fishing. Quite often he returned to Montana during the summers to spend time with his brothers George, Jim, and Don. He moved back to Billings, MT after retiring from Chrysler.
A special thank you to the entire staff at Laurel Health and Rehab, Dr. McCrae with St. Vincent Healthcare, and Rocky Mountain Hospice for the care they provided and the support they provided for the family.
Bob is survived by his brothers W. George Snider of Billings; Jim W. Snider of Rosebud Creek; and Harold Snider of Niles, MI along with numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Don Snider
A funeral service will be held at 11:00am on Thursday, March 3, 2011 at Stevenson and sons Funeral Home in Forsyth, Mt with a luncheon following. Interment will be at 2:00pm at Lee Cemetery in Colstrip, MT.
Memorials may be sent to Rocky Mountain Hospice, 2110 Overland Avenue, Suite 111, Billings, MT 59102
Service Schedule
Service Schedule
Share
Add your thoughts and memories. Upon approval they will be added.