Jan was born in New York City, New York to Max Schneier and Lillian Bloom on March 2, 1956. He graduated from SUNY Albany and went on to take graduate courses at NYU. He married the love of his life, Carrie Sallaway, on June 24, 1995. They spent the next 24 years together, raising their three kids, Zachary, Jordan, and Noah.
In 1978, he began working at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Jan served in the Senior Executive Service for nearly 20 years. He retired from NGA in 2012, after 34 years as a civil servant. Jan was awarded the rank of Meritorious Executive in the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service in 2004, and the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal in 2012. Despite often insisting he wanted to leave the workforce, his kids joked that Jan was bad at staying retired. He went on to work at General Dynamics IT until 2018, then retired again. In 2019, he started his own consulting firm GEO-IT supporting GDIT as a liaison to NGA.
To know Jan was to love him. He was the kindest, strongest, and most caring father, husband, brother, mentor, and friend. He was an incredible person who brightened the day of everyone who came in contact with him and would offer wisdom to anyone who asked. He loved to travel and had an endless list of places he wanted to go. He was a skilled woodworker and radio operator and loved the outdoors. Jan was a creative visionary with an encyclopedic knowledge about history, politics, and world affairs.
Jan is survived by his wife Carrie, his children Jordan and Noah, his brother Paul (Felice), his sister Randy Soderman (Peter), and his brothers and sisters in-law; Justin (Deb), Susan (Mitch), Ahni (Jim), Cynthia (Rob), George (Irene), and Libby. He is also survived by nieces, nephews, and their families; Julie (A.J.), Remy, Eva (Andrew), Leah, Julia (Alex), Jay, Anne, Jake, Konrad, Isabella, and Patrick (Shannon). Jan had an amazing network of friends, colleagues, who loved him dearly and whose lives he brought joy and laughter into.
A graveside service will be held on Sunday, January 26, 2020 at 3 pm at National Memorial Park, located at 7482 Lee Highway Falls Church, VA.
Jan will be laid to rest next to his beloved oldest son, Zachary Schneier, who passed away in November of 2017 at age 21.
In lieu of any flowers or gifts, contributions can be made in Jan’s name to a charity of your choosing.
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