The campus community was saddened to learn today that Emeritus Professor Dr. D. Neil Snarr died Sunday (Jan. 7) surrounded by his family after a period of failing health. Snarr, 90, served the College for 43 years as a member of the sociology faculty.
Interim President Corey Cockerill praised Snarr for his dedication to student learning. “Neil was a beacon of light and careful steward of the College’s mission and Quaker core values,” she said. “He was kind, faithful, never knew a stranger and cared deeply about global education.”
Wynn Alexander, professor of theatre and interim vice president for academic affairs, echoed those sentiments. “Neil was certainly one of the College’s stalwart carriers of the mission and Quaker values,” he said. “He was truly one of the last ‘weighty Quakers’ of years gone by. He has had a lasting effect on many faculty, staff, alumni and students.”
Snarr was a founder of the College's acclaimed prison education program in 1967 and played a key role in the institution’s embracing both global issues curriculum and study abroad/study away opportunities. He took hundreds of students on lobby trips to Washington, D.C., and study abroad trips to Mexico, Nicaragua and other destinations. The lobby trips have become a signature hands-on learning opportunity for WC students.
Snarr continued scholarly endeavors even after his retirement, sharing many unique pieces of local history in the Wilmington News Journal, especially those involving Quakers, peacemaking and social justice. Also, he and his son, Michael, a professor of political science at WC, co-edited numerous editions of the book, Introducing Global Issues, which has been used at colleges and universities both throughout the United States and internationally.
Born in Yonkers, NY, on Nov. 19, 1933, he served in the military in the early 1950s and went on the earn both a Doctor of Theology degree from Iliff School of Religion and a Ph.D. in sociology from The Ohio State University. He placed second in the state of Indiana as a high school wrestler.
Snarr, who became a Quaker after moving to Wilmington, attended Wilmington Friends Meeting for decades. He also served on Wilmington City Council and the boards of the Quaker United Nations Office in New York and Friends Committee on National Legislation in Washington, D.C.
He met his wife of 62 years, Ruth, at Anderson College in Indiana. She survives along with their two sons, Michael (Melissa) and Kevin, and eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father, Donald, and mother, Mabel, and a sister, Jean.
Campus Minister Nancy McCormick added, “Neil was a powerful presence on this campus and in the larger community – he will be missed.”
A celebration of life service will be held Saturday, Jan. 20, at 11 a.m., at Wilmington Friends Meeting, 66 N. Mulberry St., followed by a meal to which all are invited. There will be no visitation prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations in memory of Neil be made to the Isaac Harvey Fund at Wilmington College, 1870 Quaker Way, Wilmington, OH 45177. This fund assists with student travel opportunities.