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We’re deeply sad to share the news that former FCNL Executive Secretary Ed Snyder passed away on Friday, August 12. He served FCNL for 35 years, including as Executive Secretary from 1962 to 1990.

Ed Snyder’s obituary was published in the Mount Desert Islander.

Press conference with Quakers following meeting with Pres. Kennedy
Executive Secretary Ed Snyder and a Quaker delegation hold a press conference following their meeting with President John F. Kennedy, May 1, 1962.

His children, Edith Snyder Lyman, William Snyder, Marjorie Snyder, and Russell Snyder, shared this note:

“Dad’s decline this week was steep but gentle, and there was time for his four children and other family members really to be present with him. We felt held by the wider circles of Friends and friends in his life, some of whom were able to visit as well. There was much love, freely and fully expressed. His amazing words many times in those final days were: ‘This is such a wonderful time!’. On Friday afternoon, Acadia Friends Meeting quickly pulled together an inspiring meeting for worship and sharing at Dad’s home. More memories were shared, with more wonder about the influence that a life can have, and what love can do.”

From Executive Secretary Emeritus Joe Volk:

“What a wonderful cycle of life Ed has had! What gifts of the spirit he brought into this world. How he cared for his dear Bonnie and each of their children. How he gave his life to building a safe, secure, and peaceful future for us all. How he inspired so many others of us to try what love can do to mend a broken world. How he quietly, gently, and thoughtfully brought our Friends Peace Testimony into the 20th Century, a time when ‘broken world’ could have meant ‘end of our world by nuclear catastrophe’ and yet he always kept a measured and assured step in his relationships with his sometimes testy Congressional and Hill colleagues. So intelligent and well informed, he did walk cheerfully and did practice hope, even in the worst of it, and in a most humble manner … May we let our lives speak as he so faithfully has done.”

From FCNL Executive Secretary Diane Randall:

“Ed Snyder was a remarkable person, deeply dedicated to the Friends Committee on National Legislation—throughout his lifetime. Hisremarks on the occasion of his 90th birthday, which we celebrated at our annual meeting last year, inspired everyone in the audience. Ed had deep convictions about peace and justice, a keen intellect, a lively curiosity, strong political instincts and simple humility. It’s no wonder that people who worked with him during his tenure at FCNL think of Ed as a hero. He was admired and respected by so very many people in the way he lived his life and the way he served the Religious Society of Friends.”

Please join us in celebrating Ed and holding his family and community in the Light.