Henry A. Snyder Obituary (1926 - 2020)

Henry A. Snyder, 93, of Lilydale, MN, passed away on July 25, 2020. Preceded in death by mother and father, Doris and Rudolph Snyder; and sister, Sonia (Norm) Krevitt. Survived by wife Janice, whom he was madly in love with and married to for 68 years; children Mark (Dawn) Snyder, Rob (Brigitte) Snyder, and Lynn (Edward) Bick; and grandchildren Elyanna Snyder, Matthew (fiancée Kerianne) Bick, Jesse (Janet) Snyder and Manon Snyder. His greatest joys were his children and grandchildren, of whom he was immensely proud. Henry was born on December 29, 1926, in Kansas City, MO. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in chemical engineering. He served 2 years in the U.S. Navy in WW II and later in the Army Reserves. Together with his brother-in-law, he founded Interstate Chemical Products Co. in 1949 in Kansas City. West Chemical Co. in New York City bought Interstate in 1965. The family moved to New Jersey in 1968, and Henry became President of West in 1974. In 1978, Henry left West to become General Manager of the Klenzade Division of Ecolab, so the family moved to St. Paul. He officially retired in 1987 as Corporate Executive Vice President. Henry was very active in religious committees and various fundraising efforts in the Jewish community and other nonprofits. He was a consummate bridge player and enjoyed countless hours with Jan as his equally consummate partner. He also loved reading nonfiction and working crossword puzzles. After retiring, Henry also embarked on a major genealogy project tracing his and Jan’s roots back into the early 1800s, largely in Eastern Europe and parts of Russia. Henry could always be counted on to recite the often quirky poems of Ogden Nash, as well as his own compositions, and his sense of humor remained to the end. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him. Private family funeral. No shiva. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the donor’s favorite charity.