Russell Thorn Dr. Snip

Russell Thorn Snip, MD was born March 2, 1917 to Gerrit and Maria Teresa Snip in Chicago, Ill. He graduated from Kalamazoo College in 1940 and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in November, 1943--an accelerated class due to WWII. His post graduate training in ophthalmology was interrupted by service in the US Navy, where he served as a Captain seeing action in numerous battles including the Battle of Okinawa. He returned to complete his ophthalmology residency at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD where he rose to become Chief Resident in 1949. He moved with his young family to San Antonio, Texas in 1950 and began a long and successful practice of eye surgery from which he retired in 1984. He taught at the Robert B. Green Hospital and was a consultant and teacher at the military bases in San Antonio. He was known as an innovator in anterior eye surgery. Also, he was one of the first to move his practice to the South Texas Medical Center and was one of the founders of San Antonio Community Hospital. He loved to fly airplanes, learning to fly while in college, logging many thousands of hours and owning numerous aircraft. This included 27 years of flying to Laredo, TX, on a weekly basis where for many years he was the only ophthalmologist for that community. He is not only remembered as a uniquely gifted surgeon, but also an extraordinarily generous physician routinely providing care for whatever a patient might be able to afford. In addition to aviation, he was an avid fly fisherman and horseman. He cherished his times at "The Ranch" in New Mexico riding in the Pecos Wilderness with friends and family. He was preceded in death by his brother Robert Charles Snip and his beloved wife Emma with whom he traveled the world. He is survived by his children Dr. Marcia Moore and her husband, Mike, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Robert Charles Snip, MD and his wife, Virginia Hill Snip of San Antonio, grandchildren David Moore, Natalie Moore, Sarah and John Stroup, Russell Gerrit Snip and Katherine Snip, and numerous nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to the Russell T. Snip, MD Scholarship Fund at Texas Military, 20955 West Tejas Trail, San Antonio, 78257