Richard 'Dick' Lee Snyder, 79

Richard Lee “Dick” Snyder passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, Feb. 1, 2025. Dick was born in Roseburg, Ore., on Sept. 19, 1945, to William L. and Dessie (Pichette) Snyder. He was the youngest of four siblings: brothers, James L. and Billy and sister Susan Foster. Dick graduated from Roseburg’s Douglas High School and was drafted into the United States Army the following year at the tender age of 19. He served his country honorably as a soldier in Company A, 1st/35th Infantry, 3rd Brigade, and 25th Infantry Division during the Vietnam War. Dick survived the battle of LZ 10-Alpha, a well-documented, intense two-day battle that took place less than a mile from the Cambodian border in the central highlands of south Viet Nam. He was awarded a long list of medals and citations for his service, including a Presidential Unit Citation and the Viet Nam Cross of Gallantry, but he never talked about or displayed these honors, insisting that there was nothing to be celebrated about his time at war.

On April 22, 1967, just two short weeks after returning from Viet Nam, Dick married his sweetheart, Sharron Stimson of Myrtle Creek, Ore. Dick and Sharron remained in Oregon while Dick completed his associate’s degree in forestry at Umpqua Community College, welcoming their first child, son Mark Richard, during that time. Following graduation, Dick worked for the State of Oregon in Grants Pass and celebrated the birth of a daughter, Krista Marie (Jennings). The family relocated to North Idaho in 1971, and daughter Jennifer Jo (Brown) arrived shortly after. Dick worked as a fire warden for the State of Idaho Department of Lands in Cataldo and St. Maries until 1979 when he joined Inland Empire Paper Company and moved his family to Rathdrum. He stayed with IEP until his retirement in 2007. 

In retirement, Dick enjoyed traveling and golfing with many of the friends he’d made during his time at both IDL and IEP. He and Sharron spent the best of their retired years in Hayden, Idaho, in a house that they had built on property that Dick cruised and had logged himself. That property welcomed his four grandchildren and represented the results of a good life’s hard work.

Dick truly loved the outdoors. He spent the bulk of his life in the woods — working, hunting, fishing and camping with family and friends. The St. Joe River near Red Ives and the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River were special places to him, and his family shares many happy memories of time together at both. Dick was a loving and much-loved son, brother, husband, dad and grampa. He is survived by his brother, Jim; wife Sharron of 57 years; son Mark; daughters Krista (Tim) and Jenni Jo; and grandchildren Eliot Jennings (Emma), Levi Jennings, Aggie Brown and Betsy Brown. If we could eat tracks, we’d never go hungry. Rest in peace, Daddy, we love you. 

A celebration of Dick’s life will be held in April at Yates Funeral Home in Hayden, Idaho. 

Please visit Dick’s online memorial and sign his guestbook at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.