Mr. Snyder was formerly the manager of the old amusement auditorium where the Missouri Power and Light Company office is now located. Prior to coming to Excelsior Springs, he had been with the Ringling Brothers, Barnum - Bailey circus as a lion and leopard trainer.

After being clawed in the circus ring by a lepard, Mr. Snyder turned to training bears and gained fame as the trainer of "Martha", a big black bear seen in several Bob Hope and Bing Crosby movies. the bear died recently at the age of 38.

Still active as an animal trainer, Mr. Snyder was enroute to Wichita, Kansas, where he and his bear act were to have appeared with the Shrine circus, when he became ill and later died.

He is survived by a son, Clarence Snyder, 815 Linwood, Excelsior Springs, a former wife, Mrs. Stella Halsey Duncan of Long Beach, and his second wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Snyder, Chicago.