SHENANDOAH JUNCTION, W.Va. — Former West Virginia State Senator Herb Snyder has died at the age of 72.
Snyder represented the Eastern Panhandle for 16 years in the West Virginia State Senate, from 1997 to 2005 and 2009 to 2017. A Democrat, Snyder also served as vice chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and chairman of the Senate Government Orgaization Committee.
Prior to his time as a state lawmaker, he spent six years on the Jefferson County Commission after his election in 1990.
He was born in Winchester, Virginia, and grew up in Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia. He graduated from Shepherdstown High School in 1972, then went on to receive a B.S. in Chemistry from Shepherd College five years later.
Outside of politics, Snyder launched Hydrochem Laboratories in Shenandoah Junction in the late 1970s, owning and operating the business over nearly four decades.
He restored the historic Wildwood Farm in Shenandoah Junction after purchasing it in 1979; it was his home until he died.
A public viewing is scheduled for Thursday at the Melvin T. Strider Funeral Home in Ranson.
Snyder, who was preceded in death by his wife, Stephanie Shaffer Snyder, is survived by his five children, six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.