Terry Dale Snedden

Terry Dale Snedden (81) passed away peacefully on August 30, 2019 at Hospice House of Spokane. Terry was born on April 26, 1938 in Spokane, WA to Archie Dale Snedden and Maxine Merle Snedden (Peairs). During WWII, Terry was raised by both his paternal grandparents (Archie Snedden and Mary Snedden) and his maternal grandparents (Frank and Bess Peairs), while his father was in the army in Europe. Terry lost his mother in 1946, but later gained a wonderful stepmother In Doris Snedden (Lee). Following the war, and his father’s marriage to Doris, Terry spent the rest of his childhood in their home. During a couple of those years their home happened to be the Glover Mansion on the south side, as they were caretakers of the property. While growing up, he spent some of his fondest time at Priest Lake, where he and his folks built a cabin near Eight Mile Island. Terry graduated from North Central High School in 1956, and promptly joined the Navy. Terry spent much of his time in the Navy aboard Destroyer Tenders, at places like Eniwetok and Bikini Atolls during atomic bomb testing. Following his stint in the Navy, Terry returned to Spokane and married the love of his life, Gayle Charleen Snedden (Phelps) on April 11, 1959. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary earlier this spring. Shortly after marrying Gayle, Terry joined the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office as a Deputy Sheriff. Terry continued working for the Sheriff’s Office for 34 years, retiring as the Undersheriff in 1993. During this time, Terry and Gayle had three children: Julie Charleen Brownfield (Terry), Joel Dale Snedden (April), and Jill Darlene Basinger (Edward). After having the three children, Terry decided to attend night school at Whitworth College, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. During this time, he was selected and attended the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy in Quantico, VA. Terry had many outdoor interests. Terry shot competitively in Police Combat Shooting, earning the rank of Distinguished Grand Master. This earned him trips to both the U.S. and Canadian Nationals. Terry was an avid hunter and fisherman. In fact, Terry once held the state record for Landlocked Silver Salmon, which he caught at Deer Lake where he and Gayle had a summer home. Terry and Gayle had a very full retirement, with many cruises all over the world, a timeshare in Mazatlan, Mexico, and summers at Deer Lake. Terry was also fond of playing cards, especially poker. For many years Terry played in tournament style poker games nearly every day. The grandkids considered that Grandpa was at “work” when playing poker. This was probably fair as Terry could more than hold his own in a poker game. Terry is survived by his wife Gayle; children: Julie, Joel, and Jill; grandchildren Lindsey, Alex, Amanda, Christi, Casey, Corey, Levi, Andrew, and Angela; and great grandchildren: Austin, Alden, Dylan, Alexandra, Rustyn, Gehrig, Payton, Emma, Jane, Grace, Gavin, Jackson, and Niklaus. Terry will be missed greatly by his family and friends. He was always there for his family, showing impeccable courage, loyalty, and character throughout his life. Please join his family in a celebration of his life on September 20th, at 3:00 PM at Sunset Chapel / Fairmount Memorial Park, located at 5200 W. Wellesley, Spokane, WA and then for a follow-up dinner at St. Thomas Moore Church Library, located at 515 W. St. Thomas More Way, Spokane, WA.