Robert Ray Snyder

Robert Ray Snyder, 82, of the Mills River Community, died Saturday, December 1, 2001, at East Cooper Regional Medical Center, Mt. Pleasant, SC, after a brief illness. Mr. Snyder was born November 2, 1919, in Whittier, NC, the son of the late Clark W. and Nora A. Bumgarner Snyder. He was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, May Belle Ferguson Snyder, a brother, Joseph Jack Snyder, and sisters, Fannie Faye Stinebaugh and Hazel Clark Snyder. Mr. Snyder served with the 61st Seabees, United States Navy, in the Philippines during World War II. He owned and operated a crane rental company before his retirement in 1981. He was an avid fisherman and deer hunter and loved his small farm in Mills River. He was a member and former deacon of Boylston Baptist Church and will be sorely missed by friends and family alike. Surviving are a son, H. Stephen Snyder and his wife Stephanie of Mt. Pleasant, SC; a daughter, Martha S. Miller and her husband Dave of Jackson, MI; two sisters, Cumi S. Palmer of Greenville, SC and Jessie S. Austin of Spring City, TN; three grandchildren, Steven Miller and Michael Miller of Jackson, MI and Janelle James of Kalamazoo, MI and two great-granddaughters. Funeral services will be at 11:00 am Wednesday at Boylston Baptist Church, NC Highway 280, with the Rev. James R. Burress officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. His family will receive friends from 6 - 8 pm Tuesday at Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian, 72 Long Shoals Road, Arden, where Mr. Snyder will remain until being placed in the church 30 minutes prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, WNC Chapter, 3 Louisiana Avenue, Asheville, NC 28806.