Terry Snyder

Terry Jerome Snyder was born on June 4, 1950, the youngest child of Charlie and Dolly Snyder. He attended grade school in Chadron, Nebraska and England School in Vetal, South Dakota. He went to Martin High School where he graduated in 1968. He then attended Black Hill State College in Spearfish. He was drafted into the US Army in 1970 during the Viet Nam War but spent his time as a Lab Tech in South Carolina.

During his early years, he helped his Dad and Mom on the Farm/Ranch near Tuthill, South Dakota and learned farming, ranching, and wrenching.

He met Janis Allen while playing in a band at Markota Acres in Martin, South Dakota. He then moved to Rapid City where he played in a band with local musicians. During the spring, summer, and fall, he and Jan lived and worked on the farm. For several winters he and Jan made trips and lived in Rapid City, Denver, New Orleans, and San Francisco and eventually moved to Denver, Colorado in 1979.

Terry was band leader during the next 35 years in various rock and roll bands that worked and toured in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico. Several of the band names were Level 7, Bavaria, Stiletto, Zero Down, and Terry and the Pirates. He was fond of travelling to other parts of the country, especially the Colorado Rockies, but he did not enjoy driving a Dodge maxi van full of musical equipment in snowy, icy Colorado snowstorms. In 1982 he began playing country music with a country /western house band in Denver after years of travelling.

He and Jan purchased a house in Denver, and their son, Taven Charles, was born in 1983. Terry then went back to his first love of rock and roll music and was in various local bands in the Denver Area. 

In 1989, he started a mechanic business, “Miracle Auto” (If it runs it’s a Miracle)! Taven helped his Dad as soon as he could hold a wrench, and they continued their business in Englewood, Colorado for the next 30 years. 

In 2022, Terry moved to Merriman, Nebraska where he resided until his death.

Terry was a very intelligent man, a caring father, a talented musician, and a first rate and honest mechanic. In his spare time, Terry loved to fish and camp, especially at Lake McConaughy. He found solace in the beautiful Sandhill and enjoyed driving his latest toy, a1992 Corvette.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Opal (Fanning) Snyder, sister, Margaret Kaufman and his brother, Don Snyder, as well as two infant siblings. He is survived by his son, Taven C. Snyder; daughter-in-law, Kashia Gage; sister, Shirley Brickman; confidant and friend, Janis Allen; and several nieces and nephews. 

He will be forever remembered by his family and friends. 

Memorial services will be held Saturday, October 12, 2024, 11:00AM at the Merriman Memorial Cemetery, Merriman, NE.