The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

John Snoddy, 54, of Orange, went to be with his heavenly father June 28, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston, surrounded by his wife, children, and mother.

A memorial visitation will be from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Thursday, July 2, at Little Cypress Baptist Church.

A celebration of life will be at 1:00pm, Friday, July 3, at Little Cypress Baptist Church in Orange. Officiating will be the Reve.David Turner. Interment of cremated remains will be held at a later date in Ashmore, Il. Cremation is under the direction of Claybar Haven of Rest Crematory.

Born in Charleston, Il, June 1, 1961, he was the son of John F. (Frank) and Shirley Snoddy.

John lived in Ashmore, until he graduated college and moved to Orange.

He attended Ashmore grade school and then graduated from Charleston High School in 1979.

He graduated from Lakeland College in Mattoon, Il., with a degree in civil engineering technology in 1982.

He interviewed by telephone with Texas Department of Transportation, was hired, and moved to Orange in June of 1982.

In 1988 he received a governor’s award from the state of Texas for his “cooperation and performance on project widening 1 mile stretch of McArthur Drive”.

This involved cooperation of 73 businesses and numerous vehicles on this road per day.

He retired from the Texas Department of Transportation in 2011 as the District Maintenance Supervisor after 29 years of service.

Upon arrival in Texas, he met Tammy Moreland from Indianola, Il. They were married Dec. 29, 1985. They had two children; Erica and Frank.

John was a member of Ashmore First Baptist Church in Ashmore, until he moved his membership to Little Cypress Baptist Church in Orange. He was also a 30 year member of the Ashmore Masonic Lodge #390.

John was an avid car racing fan. He raced in two soap box derby races in Charleston, while in grade school. Later he became part of the pit crew for Denny Schwartz Racing and attended all of his races. When he returned to Illinois after moving to Orange, he spent all of his spare time at Denny’s garage. He started attending the Indy 500 with his dad while in high school and continued until illness would not let him go. He attended the Brickyard 400 every year through 2012. His favorite drivers were Jeff Gordon from Nascar and A.J. Foyt from Indy Racing.

John’s life revolved around his family, his racing interests, smoking meats on the grill, and his dogs, Princess and Bliss. He, along with his wife and children returned to Illinois three times every year; Indy racing time, Brickyard racing time, and Christmas.

He was preceded in death by his father.

John is survived by his wife of 29 years, Tammy Snoddy; daughter, Erica Jacobson and husband Dusty, of Pine Ridge; son, Frank Snoddy, of Orange; mother, Shirley Snoddy, of Ashmore; sisters, Cindy Kuhn and husband Eddie, of Casey, Il., and Peggy Carter and husband Brad, of Edwardsville, Il.; along with several nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

John’s family would like to thank everyone for all of the thoughts and prayers offered for him during his illness. Also a special thank you to everyone who donated blood; he used over 100 units during his illness.