James E. Snyder Jr.

Snyder, Jr., James E.

June 30, 1945 - September 12, 2021

Mr. James E. Snyder Jr., a beloved lawyer, writer, athlete, and family man extraordinaire, passed away peacefully on September 12, 2021, at his home in Lexington, after a long illness.

Jimmy, as his friends called him, was easy to spot on the streets of downtown Lexington or in the stands at ball games for his beloved Wake Forest Demon Deacons. He stood 6 feet 7 inches tall, and was larger than life, but he was a gentle and generous giant. He accomplished his main goal in life, which was to improve the lives of others. He had the rarest gift of making whomever he was with feel like he or she was the most important person in the room. He treated everyone with dignity and kindness, no matter where they came from or where they were going. He had infinite patience, rarely became irritated, and never judged anyone – period. Everyone was redeemable because everyone was a child of God, and he never had a harsh word for anyone.

His family would like him to be remembered first and foremost as a Christian. He lived his life as an example that many others aspired to emulate. He was a dutiful son, brother, husband, father, papa, attorney, author, friend, mentor, teacher, intellectual, golfer, and basketball player.

Jimmy grew up in Lexington and was a four-sport star athlete and student body president at Lexington Senior High School. He was quarterback of the football team and lettered in basketball, tennis, and golf. He earned a prestigious Morehead Scholarship, and, after graduating in 1963, went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was one of the legendary Dean Smith's first basketball recruits. But he soon missed home and quickly transferred to Wake Forest College (now University) in Winston-Salem, where he became one of Bones McKinney's last recruits. At Wake Forest he played varsity basketball for three years (freshman being ineligible then), played on the tennis team, and was president of his senior class.

His love for Wake Forest burned in his heart for the rest of his life. He loved Wake Forest more than life and felt most at home when he was at Deacon basketball and football games. His family had a long history at Wake Forest. His parents met in the campus bookstore, which his uncle ran for 44 years. Jimmy was a few feet away from President Truman when the President turned the first spade of dirt over for the new Winston-Salem campus in 1955.

After earning a B.A. in history from Wake Forest in 1967, he enrolled at Wake Forest School of Law, served as president of his class, and graduated with a J.D. in 1970. He returned to Lexington to practice law with his father. When his father died unexpectedly, Jimmy kept the firm going and served his father's unexpired term in the North Carolina Legislature in 1971 and 1972.

He and his wife, Sandra, to whom he was married for 55 years (after dating for six years before that), then concentrated on raising their two daughters, Courtney and Elizabeth, and Jimmy kept up a busy civil and criminal litigation practice. He remained devoted to his community and was a volunteer assistant coach for the 1995 Lexington Senior High basketball team, which won the state 2A championship. He was a member of various local boards, including the Davidson County Community College Board of Trustees, for which he served as chairman. He served as president of Sapona Country Club and Moderator of Diaconate and Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church in Lexington.

When his daughters were grown, Jimmy roared into the second chapter of his life. He never left the law, which he loved, but he started writing books and wrote 19 of them, including several widely used North Carolina legal treatises as well as novels and recollections. One book was entitled "Bones, Dean & Me: A Tobacco Road Recruit," and another was "A Lawyer Prays God's Will for His Clients."

He also jumped into politics. In 2002, he sought the Republican nomination for United States Senate but lost to Elizabeth Dole. He then started running for Congress two years later but soon was talked into running for lieutenant governor instead and captured the Republican nomination, only to lose in the general election to Beverly Perdue, who later became governor. He ran again for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in 2008 and for U.S. Senate in 2014, and attracted supporters of all political stripes who loved his integrity and decency.

Jimmy was preceded in death by his mother, Frances Olive Snyder Berkut, and father, James Eugene Snyder, Sr., and his second father, Michael Kalen Berkut, to whom he became devoted; and survived by his wife, Sandra Craver Snyder; his two daughters, Courtney Snyder Brown and Elizabeth Snyder Lancaster, and their husbands, whom Jimmy considered his sons, Kevin Brown and Brian Lancaster, respectively; his grandchildren, Olivia, Kevin, and Jake Brown, and Maggie, Will, and Ty Lancaster; his sister, Jean Olive Stubbs, and brother-in-law Allston Stubbs, of Winston-Salem; sister-in-law Kay Craver; sister-in-law Robin Leonard and her husband, Terry Leonard; sister-in-law Cindy Carlton and her husband, Richard Carlton; sister-in-law Jennifer Brady and her husband, Lee Brady; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A service celebrating Jimmy's life will be held at First Baptist Church, 201 West 3rd Avenue in Lexington, at 1 p.m. on Friday, September 17, 2021. Donations and memorials may be made to Hospice of Davidson County, Davidson County First Hope Ministries (formerly Crisis Ministries), First Baptist Church, or the donor's choice.

The family is especially grateful for the love and devotion provided by Hospice and numerous incredible caregivers over the years. The family owes a debt of gratitude to Leon Marsh and Jennifer Sheffield, whose impeccable care allowed Jimmy to remain comfortable at home with his family during the last years of his life on earth.

Online condolences may be made at www.davidsonfuneralhome.net.

Davidson Funeral Home

301 N. Main Street, Lexington, NC 27292