Joyce Snellman says her husband of nearly 56 years, Richard, had a rare talent for auto craftsmanship.
“He learned how to do body work as a kid at his dad’s shop,” said Joyce, 75. “That’s where he built his reputation. Wherever he worked, if there was a special request or challenging job, it would automatically go to Rich.
“I saw him take a car that was wrecked, set on fire then dumped in the river. He redid it from the floorboards up, and it turned out like it just rolled off the showroom floor.”
Mr. Snellman died March 3 at age 78 after a series of illnesses. He had worked at several body shops as well as doing auto body jobs as a sideline for many years.
Mr. Snellman grew up in Massachusetts and entered the U.S. Navy right out of high school, training to be an aviation mechanic.
“He was stationed in Cuba during the Castro takeover,” Joyce said. “He talked about how the American officers would come through the bars and warn them, ‘The federales are coming; get back on base.’ He had pictures of bullet holes in the walls. He wasn't in a war but he did see unofficial combat.”
After he was honorably discharged in 1959, Mr. Snellman moved to St. Louis to work for McDonnell-Douglas.
“He had visited St. Louis while on leave with his best friend, Gene, several times,” Joyce said. “Gene was engaged to my best friend, Carol, and I met Rich through them.
“We had our first date to my senior prom.”
The two were married in 1961 and had a daughter in 1963 and a son in 1965. Mr. Snellman graduated with top honors from the St. Louis Police Academy in 1963 and joined the force as a patrolman at the height of the civil rights movement.
“He was on guard duty when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came to St. Louis,” Joyce said. “It was pretty tense sometimes.”
But there were humorous times, too. Joyce recalled a New Year’s Eve outing with several other policemen and their wives, as well as a friend of Italian descent everyone in the group jokingly called ‘Vito.’
“We all decided to go out to eat after the dance, and we walk into the lobby of this crowded restaurant,” she said. “The guys all start taking their overcoats off, and here’s this little Italian guy standing in the middle of a group of big, burly guys wearing suits and carrying guns.
“You never saw a restaurant clear out so fast! We laughed about that for years.”
Mr. Snellman left the force in 1967 and returned to auto body work.
The Snellmans began raising and showing German shepherd and Norwegian elkhound dogs early in their marriage
“I think we helped introduce the (Norwegian elkhound) breed to this area,” Joyce said. “We showed and bred dogs for 22 years. The last five years or so, Rich was a professional handler and would show other people's dogs.”
The family traveled to shows around the country, as well as to visit Mr. Snellman’s relatives in Massachusetts and later, his parents in Florida.
Mr. Snellman also had a model car collection. But his chief form of relaxation was spending time – a precious commodity – with his family.
“He always held a regular 40-hour-a-week job, but then always was doing body work on the side,” his wife said. “But that's how he grew up; that's what a man did. You worked and took care of your family.”
After he retired in 2004, Mr. Snellman kept busy doing auto body work and other projects.
“He and our son added a sunroom to the back of our house,” Joyce said. “The thing he loved above all else was getting together with the kids and grandkids for barbecues, dinners, just anything.”
Mr. Snellman’s health started going bad in early 2014. He was affected with emphysema and later developed bladder and prostate cancer as well as kidney disease.
“He had something like 14 surgical procedures in two and a half years,” Joyce said. “It was a rough three years. How he came through and kept his sense of humor, I just do not know.”
The couple received comfort and support from Transformation United Methodist Church in House Springs, where they have been active for about 15 years.
“That's our other family,” Joyce said. “My husband had a lot of medical problems for three years, and someone sent cards, postcards, or called every single week.”
Mr. Snellman died at home.
“He was asleep and just went quietly,” Joyce said. “God gave me the strength to take care of him at home, and I am so grateful for that.”
Joyce said her husband could be “a stinker” at times, but was always supportive.
“He never would put anyone down, but he had a dry sense of humor, and he'd use it on people,” she said with a laugh. “But he always encouraged both the kids with whatever they were doing.”
Mr. Snellman’s love of family was the central theme of his life.
“Even when he was working all the time, it wasn't for glory or riches for himself,” his wife said. “It was to provide for his family.
“Even now, I know he’s watching over us.”
“Life Story,” posted each Saturday on Leader Publications’ website, focuses on one individual’s impact on his or her community.