Duane A. Snider died Sept. 6 at the Sunnyvale Health Care Center. He was 78.

Snider was born Dec. 22, 1925, in Hardin, Ill., the son of Ernest and Ethel Snider. He graduated from Hardin High School in 1943 and enlisted in the United States Navy that same year, serving in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

After his honorable discharge in 1947, he returned to Illinois, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in electronic engineering from the American Institute of Engineering in Chicago. Snider married his wife, the former Eileen Carlson, on March 3, 1951.

The couple moved to Sunnyvale in 1953, where they raised their four children: Cindy Snider of Sunnyvale, Dalice Snider of Auburn, Wash., Velvet Volonte of Stockton and Stanley Snider of Chugiak, Alaska. Snider worked for GTE/Sylvania in Mountain View for 26 years, retiring in 1987.

He was a life member of the American Legion and the VFW.

In addition to his four children, Snider is also survived by his wife, Eileen, of Sunnyvale; brother Darrell Snider of Port St. Lucie, Fla.; five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Snider was preceded in death by his sister, Nellie Tolbert, and brother Eugene Snider.

Memorial contributions can be sent to the USO of Northern California, c/o Norman Mineta International Airport, San Jose, 95110, or the Crippled Children's Society of Santa Clara County, 2851 Park Ave., Santa Clara, 95050.