ROBERT SNAPP

1934 - 2011

Robert G. Snapp
Feb. 22, 1934 - Oct. 6, 2011
"Bob" Snapp, retired printing executive and loving husband, father and grandfather, died Thursday, October 6, 2011 at Mercy Medical Center in Merced after a short illness. He was 77.
He is survived by his widow, Doris, of Atwater; a brother, Richard Snapp of Chana, Ill.; three daughters, Catherine Snapp and husband, Mark Ludwig, of San Diego; Laura Linville of Gustine; and Annette Snapp of Fort Myers, Fla. Also son-in-law, James Linville of Gustine, and nine grandchildren: Lynnette, Stephanie, Catherine, Miriah, Scott, Madeline and Jacqueline Linville; and Ashley and Christoph Ludwig.
He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Madge Snapp; sister, Martha Senneff; and brothers, John Jr., Ronald, James and Michael Snapp.
A celebration of life service will take place Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011 at 3 p.m. at Atwater United Methodist Church, 2550 Linden St., in Atwater.
Possessed of a reserved nature and dry wit, Bob Snapp was happy reading mystery novels, puttering in the yard at home or mountain cabin or observing a house full of family and friends.
Robert Grant Snapp was born Feb. 22, 1934 in Oregon, Ill. He was an Eagle Scout and later volunteered as a Boy Scout leader in Mount Morris, Ill., taking teen-agers on camping and canoeing trips to the Boundary Waters and Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. One night a bear stomped on his tent, shredding his cowboy hat hanging outside but leaving the two scoutmasters inside unharmed.
Bob graduated from Oregon High School in 1952. He and Doris Barnhart met through friends in 1953 - during the year he worked as a brakeman on the Illinois Central Railroad.
He served in the U.S. Army from Jan. 19, 1954 to Jan. 6, 1956. He was a supply sergeant in the 5th Cavalry Regiment in the U.S. Army, which included an 18-month stint in post-war Japan.
Bob and Doris Barnhart married Aug. 30, 1957 at the Church of the Brethren in Mount Morris.
Bob put himself through college and graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1961 with a bachelor's degree in accounting. He took a job in the estimating department at Kable Printing Co. in Mount Morris, Ill. He moved to World Color Press in 1973 and worked in estimating and billing for the corporate office in St. Louis and later in Effingham, Ill.
Bob moved the family to California in 1981, where he managed estimating and billing at the former World Color Press plant in Merced. He retired in 2002, but helped out at the office occasionally as recently as a month ago.
Donations can be made to the Atwater United Methodist Church.
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