Wesley W. Snyder

Wesley (Wes) Warren Snyder, 83, passed away on March 31, 2019. He was born June 4, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois to Warren (Tod) Elmore Snyder and Grace Elizabeth Gray Snyder. He graduated from Senn High School in Chicago, IL and then Northwestern University (NU) in Evanston, IL in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science in Speech. He studied interior design at the Art Institute of Chicago.

He was a member of the NU Beta Pi Chapter of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity and the Fifth U.S. Army. Wes had great singing talent and performed while on Army duty at Fort Sam Houston and theater venues in New York and Chicago. Wes had extensive experience as an interior designer, furniture showroom manager, and factory representative. In Chicago, he worked for furniture and accessory firms V. Mueller and Company and Heywood-Wakefield. In 1968 he founded his design firm, Cristies of Chicago, and completed over 140 interior design projects.

Wes moved to Sarasota, Florida in 1981 to teach design at the Ringling School of Art and Design. In 1988 he reopened Cristies Design Group. Design projects in Florida included Sarasota homes on Siesta Key, Longboat Key Boca Grande, Manasota Key, and Casey Key and various commercial projects. He also participated in designer showhouse projects with the North Florida Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) at the Powell Crosley Jr. Winter Mansion, Charles Ringling Family Mansion, and the Orange Blossom Tower in Sarasota.

Illinois professional memberships included the Illinois Chapter of ASID, the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ), president and national trustee of the Midwestern Chicago Regional Chapter of the Institute of Business Designers (IBD), and he served on the national board of IBD. Florida professional memberships included being the founding chairman of the Design Resources Exposition in Florida. Certification by the Florida ASID and was elected as the Association IV Vice President. Wes is listed in the Who’s Who in Interior Design and Who’s Who in the South and Southwest. Florida community service included serving as vice-chairman of the Sarasota County Arts Council, board of directors of the Sarasota County Chamber of Commerce, vice-president of the Sunrise Kiwanis Club of Sarasota, Sarasota Barbershop Chorus of the Keys, Leadership Sarasota, board member of the Sarasota Music Club, and revitalizing the NU Alumnae Club of Sarasota/Manatee serving as its president. Prior to becoming a resident at Sunnyside Retirement Village, Wes was member of the Sunnyside Singers and wrote and directed plays for the Sunnyside Players.

Wes will always be remembered as a man who is gentle, thoughtful, funny, kind and a good listener. He was also a great singer with a baritone to tenor range, story teller, interior designer/space planner, community volunteer, loyal alumnus of Northwestern University and Delta Tau Delta, and keeper of family geneology, photographs, and antiques. Wes is preceded in death by his parents Tod and Grace Snyder, his life partner of 37 years Louis Wahl, and brother-in-law Jerry Beeson. He is survived by his sister, Lila Snyder Beeson of Boise, ID; and her children Judy Beeson of Boise; Sue Huizinga (Jeff) of Anderson, CA; and grandnephew Andrew Gilbert (Brittany Wouden) of Vancouver, WA. The family would like to thank cousin Sandra Snyder Gravlee and her husband Coleman for their friendship and attention to his health issues and all the staff at Sunnyside Village, Sarasota Memorial Hospital, and Heartland Manor Care for their dedication to his healthcare during the past three months. Cremation was supervised by the National Cremation Society. His ashes are interred at the Sarasota Military Cemetery. A memorial service will not be held.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Wes’ memory to the Northwestern University Cherub Scholarship Program, which provides need-based financial aid for high school students participating in summer programs for theatre arts, and mailed to Northwestern University Alumni Relations and Development, 1201 Davis Street, Evanston, IL, 60208, or online at northwestern.edu/giving or WEDU West Central Florida Public Television 1300 N. Blvd Tampa, FL 33607.