Max “Duane” Snyder
MORTON - Max “Duane” Snyder, 82, formerly of Morton and East Peoria, died Thursday, February 22, 2024, at McLean County Nursing Home in Normal, Ill.
Born on August 1, 1941, in Monmouth, Ill., to Ada Marie Snyder, Duane married Carol “Luann” Lovell Carlson on March 7, 1964, at the Methodist Church in Monmouth, Ill.
Survived by his wife, Luann Snyder of Bloomington; his son, Robert Duane (Kimberly) Snyder of Ottawa, Ill.; his daughter, Jeanne Ann (Robert) LeMieux of Bloomington; grandchildren, Mason Robert (Lindsey) Snyder of Danville, Ind., Evan Charles Snyder of Springfield, Ill., Elizabeth Anne (Tristan) Kottemann of St. Louis, Mo., and Allison Michelle LeMieux and Joseph Robert LeMieux, both of Bloomington; and great-grandchildren, Cohen Lynn and Nora Ann Snyder, both of Danville, Ind. He was preceded in death by his mother and maternal grandparents.
Duane graduated from Monmouth (IL) High School in 1958 and the University of Iowa in 1963, with a BS Degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Duane was an Endowment Life Member of the National Rifle Association, a member of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, the Tau Beta Pi Honorary Engineering Society, the Law Enforcement Alliance of America, the Amateur Radio Relay League, the Illinois State Rifle Association, the Illinois Sheriff ’s Association, the National Association of Police Organizations and the Second Amendment Foundation.
While in college, he participated in the University of Iowa Marching Band for four years and as an 18-year-old freshman, he marched with the band in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA, on January 1, 1959.
After graduating from college, Duane was employed by the Caterpillar
Tractor Company. He worked there for 33 years and 4 months in various Service Representative and Service Engineering-related functions. In one assignment, he was Caterpillar’s Service Engineer during the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline while he and his family lived in Anchorage, AK.
Duane had a life-long interest in radio and electronics and became a licensed Amateur Radio operator while still in high school. The FCC randomly assigned call signs to new licensees then and they awarded Duane the call sign “K9PIG,” which he still held at the time of his death. While in Alaska, he held the call sign KL7IEG, then regained K9PIG upon returning to the Lower 48.
While living in the Peoria area from 1976 to 1996, Duane also participated in other activities, including the Morton Auxiliary Police, working as an EMT-I on a private ambulance service, teaching CPR classes for the American Heart Association and volunteering at the Methodist Medical Center. That led to his being hired by Methodist as an inpatient pharmacy IV technician, where he worked part-time for several years. He was also partner in a private investigation firm, Investigation Contractors, Inc., specializing in accident investigation, skip tracing and process service. He also owned an accident investigation operation, Morton Technical Services.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, February 27, 2024, at Knapp-Johnson Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Morton, with Chaplain Trevor Bartolomucci officiating. Visitation will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, prior to the service at the funeral home. Burial will be at Hirstein Cemetery in Morton.
Memorials may be made to the Festival for Families, c/o Rusty Lym, 419 Front Street, Evanston, WY 82930.
Knapp-Johnson Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Morton is handling arrangements.
To leave an online condolence for the family visit www.knappjohnson.com.