Will Snyder

Wilbert W. Snyder was born the 27th day of February 1930 at Verdella, Missouri.  He was the son of Wilbert W. Snyder, Sr. and Nellie (Glover) Snyder.  He died June 24, 2014 at Lamar, Missouri.      After graduating from Liberal High School in 1947, Will went to Kansas City, Missouri to work.  In May of 1949 he joined the United States Navy. After boot camp he went to Electrician’s School and became an Interior Communication (I.C. Electrician).  He was then transferred to the U.S.S. Mt. Katmai AE 16, an Ammunition Ship at Port Chicago, California, a Naval Ammunition Depot.      At the outbreak of the Korean Conflict, the Mt. Katmai was fully loaded and sailed to Sasebo, Japan, which was the ship’s home port away from home.  The ship would rendezvous with the 7th Fleet, enabling them to transfer ammunition to the war ships at sea.  In 1952, Wilbert was transferred to the U.S.S. Bushnell A.S.15, a Submarine Tender.  The crew brought the ship from the west coast to their home port in Key West, Florida.  At the time of his discharge March 26, 1953, Will was an I.C. Electrician 2nd Class Petty Officer.      Following his discharge, Will attended Central Technical Institute, an electronic engineering school in Kansas City.  After school, he remained in Kansas City to work for the Atomic Energy Commission.  This department later became the U.S. Department of Energy and he worked there as a quality control supervisor until retiring in 1988.      Will was a 50-year Mason and a member of Lamar Lodge #292.  He was also a member of the Order of Eastern Star – Mt. Hope #74, Lamar and a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Jackson, Tennessee.  He was an active member of Lamar United Methodist Church.  Will was an avid coon hunter in his younger days.  He and his wife, Dorothy, enjoyed blue grass festivals and their winter vacations in the Southwest.      He was preceded in death by his first wife, Juanita (Bowen) Snyder; his parents, Wilbert & Nellie Snyder; his brothers, Jim, Harold, Elmer and George Snyder; his sisters, Marie Carlyle and Jerene Gosney.      Survivors include his wife, Dorothy (Rawlings) (Rittermeyer) Snyder; two sons, Bert Snyder and wife Rhonda, Bruce Snyder and wife Marcia; a step-son, Douglas Rittermeyer; two step-daughters, Pamela Anderson and Cheryl Rittermeyer; eleven grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.  He is also survived by his brother George’s wife, Ramona Snyder.      Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday at Daniel Funeral Home. An Eastern Star ceremony will be conducted at 9:30 a.m. followed by visitation until service time.  Burial with military honors will be in Barton City Cemetery near Liberal.      Memorial contributions are suggested to Barton City Cemetery or Lamar United Methodist Church, in care of the funeral home.