The Scioto Foundation is pleased to announce the establishment of the Linda Barry Snyder Fund created by Linda’s initial gift in memory of her husband, Richard C. Snyder, DDS, who passed away on May 17, 2011 after a brief battle with cancer.

Mrs. Snyder, the daughter of Dr. Raymond and Margery Barry, is a Portsmouth native and a 1956 graduate of Portsmouth High School. After graduating from Stephens College in Missouri in 1958, she attended the Women’s College at UNC Greensboro before coming back to teach for a year at Portsmouth Notre Dame. She was employed as a dental assistant in a private practice in Cincinnati and then moved to Columbus to work as a dental assistant and lab technician at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry Columbus where she met her future husband.

All of Mrs. Snyder’s family from parents to grandparents and cousins were either born or raised in Portsmouth. Her father practiced dentistry here for 35 years, she said, and the family home was on 23rd Street for many years before her parents moved to McDermott in 1963. She attended Lincoln Elementary School. She and her husband got engaged at Harold’s Restaurant and married at First Presbyterian Church.

“Portsmouth was always home,” she said. “My roots are deep in P-Town.”

“My mother attended the Columbus School of Art and her sister, Annette Taylor, doubled majored in voice and piano at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, so art and music became a life-long enjoyment,” said Snyder. “Dick was always involved in music and took organ lessons after he retired, so naturally I would like to see the Scioto Foundation fund used in these areas.”

In Columbus, much of Mrs. Snyder’s life has centered on golf. She has won four different club championships over the years, played in two USGA Senior Women’s events and participated locally in many amateur and state golf tournaments. She has often served as a rules official in Columbus and in her home in California, and has been active for 26 years with the American Cancer Society Franklin Unit as a volunteer for the Babe Zaharias Classic Golf and Tennis Event, serving as General and Tournament Chair. Her team won locally and at the state level and went on to the PGA National to compete for the American Cancer Society in 1998. She continues to be involved in playing golf and holding leadership positions on a club level.

Dr. Snyder graduated from Washington High School in Massillon in 1952 where he was “Obie the Tiger” for two football seasons, played varsity basketball and was a member of National Honor Society and the school band. After his freshman year at Findlay College, he transferred to OSU and graduated from the OSU Dental School in 1959. He received his commission as a Lieutenant (JG) in the U.S. Navy stationed in San Diego. During his active duty he served as a dental officer with the See Bees in Okinawa.

After his stint in the Navy, Dr. Snyder practiced dentistry briefly in Canton and then served as an instructor in operative dentistry at the Ohio State Dental School until he enrolled in the school’s orthodontic program. He received his master’s degree in 1959 and enjoyed a successful practice in Columbus before his retirement in 1996. For a period of 31 years he treated mainly children and young adults who fondly remember him for his dedication, warm personality and million-dollar smile.

Dr. Snyder was a member of several professional organizations and served as president of the Great Lakes Association of Orthodontics. An avid golfer, he was an OSU alumni life member and active in the naval reserves and in the community. Married for 45 years, Dick and Linda met and enjoyed many friends while traveling on Orthodontic Association functions, making golfing trips to Ireland and Scotland and spending the winters in Rancho Mirage, California.

The new donor-advised fund enables the donor to remain actively involved in recommending grants from the fund over time. The grantor may consult with, advise and make recommendations to the Foundation with respect to all distributions made from the fund; recommendations are solely advisory and not binding on the Foundation. Contributions to the fund may be made by friends and family at any time. Further information about the Snyder Fund or other planned giving opportunities at the Scioto Foundation may be obtained by contacting SF Executive Director Kim Cutlip at (740) 354-4612.