More detail on this person: James Freeman
Snider, 67, passed away Dec. 8, 2013, at the
Bailey Family Center for Caring, in St. Augustine.
Jim was born in Nashville, Tenn., and in his youth
lived in Nevada City-Grass Valley, Calif., in the
Sierra Nevada Mountains. He has also lived in
Stillwater, Okla.; Gainesville; San Francisco; and
finally St. Augustine. Jim was a combat helicopter
pilot in Vietnam who received a Purple Heart, and
an army instructor pilot in Texas. Later he was a
commercial fisherman with his brother John, and a
part-time Apache helicopter pilot for the Army
National Guard in Jacksonville. For many years he
was a water plant operator for the City of Palm
Coast.
Jim received a BA from the University of Florida
in English (creative writing) and also did some
graduate work at UF. He was a devoted student of
Buddhism who enjoyed the benefits of
solitude-meditation, listening to jazz, and
reading. He also loved being in nature-fishing,
flying, and sailing. Jim was a good storyteller
who loved to laugh and to make others laugh.
Jim was preceded in death by his sister Susan
Amanda Snider and his parents Volla and Marion
Snider. Jim is survived by his wife of 39 years,
Pauline; his sister Hope White and her husband
Tony, of Gainesville; his brother John Snider and
his wife Terry, of Orlando; his sister Gena Snider
and her partner Kyle Houghton, of St. Augustine;
his brother Ralph Snider, of St. Augustine; and
several nieces, nephews, and cousins.
The family expresses its deep gratitude to the
Bailey Family Center for Caring, and to Jim's
coworkers and the administrators for the City of
Palm Coast. Jim would have been very grateful for
any donations made to any of the following in his
memory: The International Campaign for Tibet, 1825
Jefferson PL NW, Washington, DC 20036,
www.saveTibet.org; the Sierra Jazz Society (a jazz
camp), 15631 Lower Colfax Rd., Grass Valley, CA
95945, www.sierrajazzsociety.com; and the Bailey
Family Center for Caring, 200 Health Park Blvd.,
St. Augustine, FL 32086.
Published in St. Augustine Record on Dec. 20,
2013
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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