Donal M. Snyder

“Some you win, some you lose, some get rained out, and some shouldn’t have been scheduled in the first place.” That was one of the mottos of well-known Biloxian, Donal M. Snyder Sr., who went to be with the Lord Wednesday, July 30, 2015 after a battle with complications from heart disease at the age of 93. Snyder, born in Chicago, Illinois, spent time in several cities before he and his family settled in Ocean Springs, where he graduated from high school. The track and field specialist competed at Oklahoma City College then the University of Indiana, where he was an All-Conference honoree in track and also earned his B.S. degree. Snyder earned his Master’s degree and continued his track and field career at the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New Jersey. His military service also included a stint in the U.S. Navy aboard a liberty ship during World War II. He taught and coached track & field at Biloxi High School for five years before serving as the City of Biloxi’s Recreation Director for 20 years. From there, his career continued in the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Department on Kessler Air Force Base until his retirement in 1989. Snyder then spent his so called “golden years” competing and medaling in numerous Senior Olympic track and field events and was recently inducted into the Mississippi Senior Olympic Hall of Fame. He’s also an Amateur Softball Hall of Honor inductee, the City of Biloxi Sports Hall of Fame, and a longtime member of the Biloxi Businessmen’s Club. In 2001 Biloxi’s Donal Snyder Sr. Community Center (AKA “The Grandpa Dome”), opened to the public in May 2001. His parents, Chester and Louise T. Snyder; his wife of 66 years, Audrey L. Snyder; his daughter Patricia; and siblings Regine Sanders, Muriel Agregaard, Edward Snyder, and Frank Snyder preceded him in death. He’s survived by his seven children, Donal Snyder Jr. (Pamela), Susan Richardson (Samuel), Christopher Snyder (Susan), Father Michael Snyder, David Snyder (Jan), Judith Kavanagh (Michael), and William Snyder; 13 grandchildren, Donal Snyder III (Karma), Joseph Snyder (Andrea), Thomas Snyder (Alex), William Richardson (Christie), Elizabeth (Jayson Newell), Rose Rider (Jason Rider), Cecilia Snyder, Susannah Snyder, Danielle Snyder, Adam Kavanagh, Kathryn Kavanagh, Colin Snyder, and Caroline Snyder; and five great grandchildren, Amy Snyder, Ian Snyder, Amelia Snyder, Elizabeth Richardson, and Jackson Sukiennik; and three sisters, Emily Reed, Phyllis Benson, and Carol Ready (Clyde). Among his numerous attributes, Snyder turned several beachfront lots vacated after Hurricane Katrina into his own personal golf course, worked as an acclaimed but often times jeered high school and college official and umpire, turned using duct tape into an art form, and at 90 years of age could still recite the poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade” word for word. Visitation will be held Monday, August 3, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. at Nativity B.V.M. Cathedral in Biloxi with a Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. Entombment will follow at Biloxi City Cemetery. The Howard Avenue Chapel of Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the Cathedral for restoration of the statue of the original Our Lady of Lourdes in the church garden. The man who someone once said is known “from the East Coast to the West Coast” was loved by many and will truly be missed.