George E Snively

George Edwin Snively (May 1, 1924, Columbus, Ohio - April 13, 2022, Phoenix, Arizona) was the second of three children born to Roy and Kathleen Snively. The children were raised by their paternal grandmother due to Kathleen’s death shortly after the birth of her third child, Myra. George, who shared an aptitude for music with his older sister, Mary, learned to play the piano at an early age and sang in the Trinity Episcopal Church Boys Choir in Columbus.

Like many young people during the World War II era, George was eager to join in the war effort and left home in 1942, at the age of 18, to study electrical engineering at Texas A&M under a then-secret navy radar program. His naval career took on cinematic drama over the islands of Hawaii when the plane on which he was serving as a radio operator caught on fire during a training exercise. The pilot safely parachuted from the plane, but George, rendered unconscious by smoke, rode the descending plane to a sugarcane field near the air base on Maui. He miraculously walked away with only minor injuries. George returned to the States assigned to the Naval Officer’s Training Program under which he studied at several liberal arts colleges.

After being honorably discharged in 1946, George continued his college education with a huge thirst for knowledge. He pursued a double major in anthropology and electrical engineering, earning a Bachelor of Science from Ohio State in 1949. He was the consummate student and attained a broad, well-rounded education. George was a lifelong Buckeye, and Ohio State was where he met his first wife, Jacqueline, the mother of his four children. Shortly after they married, George was hired by General Electric and moved to Syracuse, New York.

George’s nearly two-decade career with GE as a financial manager was full of achievement during the time when the company slogan was “Progress is our most important product.” GE transferred George to Phoenix, Arizona, to join the team building one of the first mainframe computers. He took great pride in helping the sales department close its deals including for the first computers servicing banks and continued to work in computer leasing after leaving General Electric. He served as the Arizona President of the National Association of Accountants (now known as the Institute of Management Accountants) and was a member of the organization’s esteemed McLeod Society.

After living in Scottsdale for five years, George moved his growing family to Carefree, Arizona, where he was able to pursue his passion for keeping horses. George was also an accomplished sailor and enjoyed sailing with a club in San Diego, California. He remained an innovative thinker and lifelong learner, keeping abreast of linguistic theory and studying music composition.

He married Hoang, the light and love of his life, in 1984. They traveled the world, shared a love of music, and created a happy home along with Hoang’s sister and two nieces. George knew how fortunate he was to have found a lifelong partner in Hoang, and his family is forever grateful and inspired by the tender loving care Hoang showered upon their father.

George Edwin Snively is survived by his wife, Hoang, his children Suzanne (Ian Fraser), Lloyd (Kim Hadley), Steve (Heidi), and Meribeth (Matt Reeves), nine grandchildren and ten great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his first wife, two sisters and one grandchild.

Family and friends may attend a viewing at Phoenix Memorial Park Cemetery on Monday, April 25, 2022, 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. 200 W. Beardsley Rd., Phoenix, Arizona.

Funeral services will be held April 26, 2022, 10:00 a.m. at St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, 330 W. Coral Gables Dr., Phoenix, Arizona, followed by a military burial,12:00 p.m. at Phoenix Memorial Park Cemetery, 200 W. Beardsley Rd., Phoenix, Arizona. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85014.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.phoenixmemorialmortuary.com for the Snively family.