Obituary of Jesse George Snyder

Jesse George Snyder of Venice, FL, aged 80 years, passed away on Sunday, April 16, 2023. He was born on October 23, 1942, in Chicago, IL, son of the late George and Alyce (Bechtel) Snyder.

Having put himself through college, Jesse graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1964 and soon after began his illustrious career at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as a trainee bank examiner. During the next 38 years, his knowledge, skill, and perception was recognized with many and varied responsibilities within the FDIC’s bank regulatory apparatus.  On his professional journey, Jesse, like others before him, relished the semi-autonomy and being entrusted with the responsibilities of the position of Regional Director, an office he held first in the New England Regional Office and, later, the San Francisco Regional Office, FDIC’s largest geographical jurisdiction.  In both offices, he met and dealt with a panoply of 1980’s-type bank regulatory challenges and was instrumental in the resolution of a number of bank failures.  Returning to executive positions in the Washington headquarters, Jesse represented the FDIC on the Capital Group of the standing international Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, was a member of the International Monetary Fund’s Indonesia ad-hoc banking review served on the President’s Council on Y2K, was Chairman of the Appraisal Subcommittee, and served as a Director and Chairman for many FDIC-operated Bridge Banks formed to facilitate failed bank receiverships.  Jesse also frequently lectured at various national and international training venues.  Following his career at FDIC, Jesse spent several years in the private sector in various roles, including serving as the Chief Compliance & Risk Officer for Synovus, one of the largest banks in the Southeast. Concurrently with his earliest 12 years with FDIC, Jesse served in the U.S Army Reserves and was honorably discharged while carrying the rank of Chief Warrant Officer II.

In all the principal aspects of Jesse’s life, he was “all in”.  As a professional, he was dedicated, productive, energetic, curious, imaginative, always up-to-date, and anyone looking for wisdom, logic, and information could find all those in ample measure and, often entertainingly presented behind Jesse’s door.

Characteristically, hobbies were plenty for Jesse with many being revived after his retirement.  Jesse was an avid amateur radio enthusiast, reclaiming his childhood callsign KW4IT and becoming active in radio clubs in both Fredericksburg, VA and Venice, FL - even becoming the proverbial gray beard that administered licensing tests.  Jesse was a lifelong avid reader and was always in the middle of at least one book. Retirement also saw him become interested in many woodworking projects and plans for his garage.

While his many friends came from various walks in life, Jesse was known by all for his razor-sharp intellect, quick-witted humor, and love for a good prank.  He was a skilled teller of jokes and stories and could be counted on for both setup and punchline with a regular dose of deadpan delivery.  While it is true that Jesse was sometimes hard to please and did not suffer fools gladly, his softer side was often on display; his family could never say goodbye after a visit without visible dampness around the ocular area and a heartfelt “I love you mightily” from him.

In addition to his mother and father, Jesse was preceded in death by his brothers Gordon and Tom, sister Dona, and his cherished Cairn Terrier - Max the Wonderdog.  He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Deborah; son George (Laura Jean) of Chantilly, VA, and daughters Amanda (Colby) Raden of Austin, Texas, and Jessica (Jason) Davidson of Chantilly, VA; and his beloved grandchildren Thomas and Hannah Snyder, Henry, Walter, and Peter Raden, and Tyler and Logan Davidson; as well as sister Susan.

Jesse will be dearly missed by his family, friends, neighbors, and former colleagues. What a remarkable mind, what wit, what insight - and while it is a significant loss, what a mark on the world.

A memorial service will be held on May 6th, 11:00am at Farley Funeral Home, 265 S. Nokomis Ave, Venice, FL 34285.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to Tidewell Hospice.