William M. Snyder Jr., 80, of Florence, Ariz., and formerly a longtime resident of Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills and Downers Grove, died Jan. 4, 2021, of COVID-19.
Bill was born in Schenectady, New York, in 1940, the oldest of a family of six boys. He attended Hinsdale Central High School (Class of ’58) and graduated in 1962 from the University of Notre Dame, where he played football. Bill was one of the few walk-on-to-scholarship football players at Notre Dame. After a stint in the Marine Reserves, he joined Snyder Sales Co. as an electrical manufacturers’ representative in the Chicago area, where he worked continuously for more than 50 years. Bill was a longtime member of the Electric Association of Chicago (a Hall of Fame recipient), NEMRA and Little Wheels.
He was an avid Francophile and a member of Alliance Française, which helped him meet his wife, Kelly. Bill also was a veteran Cessna pilot who described himself as “the flying rep.” Politics was his avocation and Bill ran for U.S. Congress in 1984 in the Republican primary for the 13th Congressional District (alas, unsuccessfully).
He was preceded in death by his wife of 23 years, Kelly (nee Fullerton); and his brothers, Jeff and Steve (Dorothy Bishop).
Bill is survived by his three daughters, Cassandra (Allison Rydberg) Snyder, Madeleine Snyder and Shannon Snyder; his three brothers, Jerry (Jan) of Hinsdale, Sam (Patti) and Brian (Barb); and many nieces and nephews.
Services were private.
