Thomas Snee Obituary

Remembering My Brother Tom
For those who don´t know me I´m Tom´s older brother Ron
I´m going to spend a few minutes remembering Tom´s early life on the farm.
Creating our own Entertainment
Work on the farm was central our lives. We did however find time to play. We had to innovate and create our own entertainment.
There was a foursome involved: Our neighbor, Duane Winnett, and the three Snee Boys, me and my two younger brothers, Tom and Duane. We were close in age with four years between us; Duane Winnett was the oldest, Duane Snee was the youngest.
Ten Mile Creek was the center of a lot of the activity, in both summer and winter.
In the summer the foursome would play a lot together. Duane Winnett would come over to the Snee farm by walking, riding a bike or riding a pony.
Swimming was a great way to cool off after working in the hot sun. We swam at the Gypsy Camp on Ten Mile Creek which was a swimming hole on the southwestern edge of the Snee farm. The problem we encountered every year was the lack of a diving board. Somehow the diving board would disappear during the winter. So each year we had to install a new diving board. It was quite an operation but I will leave that story for another day.
In the summer we played baseball at the Winnett ballfield. Tom was a good baseball player and played in the newly formed Amity Little League and Pony League Teams. He played third base, shortstop and catcher.

We also played informal pickup games.
Baseballs were expensive. When the cover came off the baseball we covered the ball with "black tape" and kept playing with the ball until it was no longer useful. We also mended broken bats with black tape, as we use duct tape today.
We did obtain some new baseballs.
The outfield of the ballfield backed up to Ten Mile Creek. Amity had a sandlot team. These players were strong young men. It was not uncommon for a ball to land in the creek some 300-400 feet away.
Duane Winnett had a black Collie dog named, what else, Blackie. When a ball was hit into the creek we would all run to where the ball was. We would throw a stone or stick close to the bobbing baseball and Blackie would jump in and retrieve the ball. Sometime we returned the ball to the team. Many times we kept our "new found treasure" for our own baseball games.
In the winter Ten Mile Creek would freeze over and the foursome would ice skate and play "fox and geese" and hockey on the ice. We played hockey using a squashed tin can as a puck and a curved tree limb as a hockey stick. Necessity is the mother of invention, they say.

We also went sled riding on the Winnett farm. We rode a variety of sleds; regular two runner sleds, one runner "Yankee Jumpers", shovels and even pieces of roofing tin.

Big Event, the Amity Bobsled Championships. We got the idea to make the 12 foot by 3 foot piece of roofing tin into a "bobsled" by turning up one end and connecting some bailing wire to the two front corners to form a handle to guide the front of the bobsled. The bobsled rides were done on the steep hill far behind the Winnett´s house, about 300 feet in length. The "sled" traveled at a very high speed; some may think of it as an unguided missile. To stop we rolled off the sled at the bottom of the hill to keep from going into the creek. It was a dangerous and fast trip down the hill. It is a wonder that someone didn´t get hurt.

Well, there was one occasion not to be forgotten. On one ride down the hill Tom forgot roll off the sled and ended up in the frozen stream partially through the ice. We fished him out, took him to the Winnett house, warmed him up and gave him some of Opal´s famous chili. All was well. Unfortunately the Amity Bobsled Championships were cancelled for the rest of the day.

Tom was an Avid Fly Fisherman

Every year on April 15, the first day of trout season Tom and Duane were off to trout fish before sunrise in Ten Mile Creek along the Hackney and Farabee Bottoms

Tom grew to love trout fishing, be in Ten Mile Creek, State College or in Montana and Wyoming among other places.

He taught his sons to fly fish; they got quite good at it. One son once told me that his core competency was fly fishing. Tom had trained him well. So much for the college education his sons received.

After Amity School it was off to Trinity High School
Tom was a popular student. He was elected Vice President of his freshman class.
He was on the wrestling team for 4 years (Varsity 3 years) and was very good wrestler winning the Section championship in his senior year
I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Tom for getting the Snee boys into wrestling
Dad was had little value for sports of any kind except hunting. As many of you know Dad focused on 3 things: WORK, WORK and more WORK! Dad thought that the best way to keep his sons out of trouble was to keep them working! This method worked most of the time.
Tom wanted to go out for wrestling at Trinity and talked Dad into letting him do it. That opened the door for Duane and me to also go out for wresting.
Wrestling had a great impact on my life and still is a source of great enjoyment of me today. I will be ever grateful for Tom´s pursuit of wrestling. THANK YOU TOM.
It is time for me to conclude these memories
He is and will continue to be greatly missed: We miss
His wit,
His charm,
His storytelling,
His jokes, and
His friendship, just to name a few.
The country singer, Hank Williams, Jr tells us that "A Country Boy Can Survive". Tom not only survived, he prospered:
o Living a productive life,
o Caring for his dental patients,
o Raising a wonderful family and
o Serving his community.
He will be long be remembered.
Yes Tom we miss you greatly. Thanks for the memories.
I will close with a quote from Hannah Snee, Tom´s granddaughter. Hannah said, "I bet pappy just loves in heaven".
Ron Snee Newark, Delaware July 21, 2022

Dear Kay and family, I want to express my deepest sympathies to you and your family during this time. He was a wonderful man and father. May the God is peace which surpasses all understanding be with you.

Ryan and Family....so sorry for your loss. Your dad was a wonderful dentist who always put you at ease when performing his work and you are strongly following in his footsteps. May God bless and support all of you during this sad time.

Tom was one of the nicest people i will ever meet in my life. Always a smile and a funny joke to tell. He will be missed at the golf club.

Our deepest sympathies to the Snee family. Wishing you peace in your memories, strength from above and love from those that surround you during this difficult time.

Kay and boys, my love to you all. It was a privilege to know him.

Condolences to the Snee Family.
Wonderful memories of a special family.

Tom was a great guy and a great professional!!! My utmost condolences to all the family...

I had not known of Tom's illness and was shocked to read of his passing. I enjoyed playing golf with him at Lone Pine and sharing jokes with him. I'll miss his infectious smile.