|
In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
SNIDER, Richard Samuel - Richard Samuel Snider of Valley Springs, a rancher, died Sunday, Sept. 5, 2004, at a Lodi convalescent home. He was 81.
Mr. Snider was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He served in the Royal Canadian Navy in World War II. In 1958, he moved his family to Sacramento, and in the 1980s to Lodi, before settling in Valley Springs nine years ago. Here, they raised miniature horses on their Windemere Ranch.
He was a Mason in Gateway Lodge of Alberta for 50 years, a member of the Calaveras Masonic Lodge in San Andreas, a noble in Al Malaikah Temple of Los Angeles for 25 years, and in 1993 became a member of Ben Ali Temple of Sacramento. A devoted Shriner, he served as president of the Mark Twain Shrine Club in 1996, and as ambassador for the Ben Ali Shrine Temple in 1998.
He leaves his wife of 59 years, Thelma Dorothy Sheppard Snider, and their three children, Warren Snider of Wallace, Wayne Snider of Tuscon, Ariz., and Sandra Steiger of Valley Springs; a brother, Gilbert Snider of Edmonton, Canada; eight grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and his constant companion, Laddie the Labrador.
A memorial service will be held for friends and family at 2 p.m. Oct. 16 at the Calaveras Masonic Lodge in San Andreas. The family prefers memorials in the form of donations in his memory to the Shriners Hospital for Children, 2425 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95817. (Calaveras Enterprise 17 Sep 2004)
Ships served in: HMCS VALLEYFIELD - O/Tel Snider, of Edmonton, AB, survived the sinking of HMCS VALLEYFIELD
Found this story when researching the sinking of the Valleyfield - Argue over shirt as ship sinking
The fore part of the frigate Valleyfield sank in 90 seconds, but it didn't take that long for Telegraphist Richard Snider to scramble from his hammock, play a little game of "whose shirt is whose," and slip out of the escape hatch among the debris into the icy Atlantic.
The Valleyfield survivor, who suffered immersion foot after being in the cold water for 1 ½ hours, arrived Thursday to spend a month's leave with his parents, 10366 92 Street, Edmonton, Alberta.
Snider told how an enemy torpedo struck the ship amidships, splitting it in two, about midnight.
"I was asleep at the time, and was awakened by the explosion lifting the ship into the air," he said.
"I jumped out of my hammock and reached for my shirt. Someone yelled, "That isn't yours: it's mine," so I threw it to him. After that he decided it wasn't his, so I don't know what happened to it."
The ship had been thrown on its side, and the crew was knocked to the floor. On account of the movement of the ship, Snider's lifebelt had been shifted from its position and he had to climb to reach it.
He didn't have time to secure his belt so he wrapped it around him like a vest. Then he made for the stairs on the escape hatch. "The ship lunged up on its end and several men in my quarters were killed" he said.
"I had a secure hold on the railing on the hatch, but was struck by flying debris, some cutting my head. I think it was dishes from the mess. That isn't china; it's good old navy crockery."
When Snider reached the escape opening, water started pouring in and he had to go through it to get out. He explained that if the ship had turned on its other side, escape would have been impossible because the door would have been under water.
He managed to get away from the sinking fore part of the ship which sank in 90 seconds, and he was taken aboard one of the life rafts. There were eight aboard the raft. One of Snider's chums was lost. After the rescue ship approached the raft, two of the men were swept off, and one pulled down by the undertow of the rescue ship's propellers.
One of his shipmates began slipping over the side of the raft, but Snider, with the aid of another survivor, pulled him back. He slipped again but was held up.
"I grabbed him by the beard and pulled him on the raft," Snider said. "The temperature of the water was 33 degrees.
"We were paralyzed," he said. Their hands also were oily and it was impossible to cling to anything.
Snider praised the work of the rescue crew.
"Most of us were so weak we had to be carried up the scramble nets," he said. "On board, we were treated wonderfully well."
Snider is 21 and has been in the navy since April 1942. Former Journal carrier, he trained at H.M.C.S. Nonsuch and in Québec before going to sea.
Source: Ultimate Sacrifice by Robert D'Aoust
|
