Eric Warren Snyder

Born the son a of pension specialist for Aetna Life and Casualty, insurance was always in his blood. When he met his future father-in-law and mentor, Wayne Wiester, an Erie insurance agency owner in Murrysville, PA., Eric knew he wanted to follow in Mr. Wiester’s footsteps.

In 1983, Eric established his own agency with Erie Insurance after interviewing with the late Steve Milne. Working at a sawmill during the week and taking weekend courses for his insurance license, Eric began his Maryland-based independent agency without a single client. The early days were cold calls, fliers on cars, and knocks on doors. Late nights, early mornings, and client referrals grew what is now the 37-year-old Eric W. Snyder Insurance Agency in Parkton, MD.

Eric loved his clients, their families, and his employees. He took pride in providing honest business advice, guiding clients through life’s changes: insurance and otherwise. Of him, a client wrote, “Always a gentleman, professional and kind.”

He was also a gentleman farmer, putting to use his 1983 Agricultural Science degree from Penn State. Eric restored a Monkton farmhouse and grounds where he raised his young family, running his business out of a beautifully remodeled summer kitchen. Most weekends you could find Eric on his red tractor, landscaping the property and tending to the animals in the field.

Eric was an avid skier, gardener, and woodworker. He took particular pride in building beautiful birdhouses. A member of the fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon, Eric loved his fraternity friends like blood brothers and enjoyed spending home game Saturdays in State College, PA., where he held Nittany Lion season tickets.

Above all, Eric was a devoted, present family man. He was their rock. To his wife, he recently inscribed a card, “You’re simply everything to me.” To his kids, he spoke most every day. Every call ended with, “I love you.” A life well-lived, somewhere over the rainbow.

In addition to his wife, Lana Wiester, Eric is survived by his two sons, Griffin and Cole Snyder; a daughter, Emilia Snyder; his brother, Jeff Snyder; his sister, Jenifer Snyder; and his mother, Barbara Snyder. His father, Warren Snyder of Bucks County, PA., preceded him in death.

In lieu of flowers, a foundation has been established in Eric's memory to support youth mentorship and leadership in the communities he served. Find the Eric W. Snyder Foundation Fund at bcf.org/fund/snyder or see the link below.