Class Of - Shawn Snider

50th Reunion 31
Virginia on doing self-study for accreditation. I completed my career at EMU in 1985 as the Chief Financial
Officer. I then began private consulting and built an oak post and beam house, that Susan and I designed, on
the wooded hillside just west of EMU along Lincolnshire drive.
In 1988, I began working for Computer Management and Development Services which later became
Janzebar. I retired from that company in 2001. During those years, I helped to develop computer software for
colleges, wrote training manuals and trained administrators to use software. I worked with some 200 colleges,
universities and seminaries all around the country from southern California to Alaska and Florida to Maine.
Some of my most interesting experiences were in Native American Colleges and in seminaries. While at
Princeton Seminary, I walked to campus past Albert Einstein’s house each day. In Barrow, Alaska, the sun never
set while I was there, and I had a meal in the home of the Acting President whose wife and himself were both
descendents of the original 12 Mormon Apostles. I was at Southern Baptist Seminary when the Board decided
that no professor could accept ordination of women. The registrar that I was working with was a woman who
had been a pastor and her husband was an OT professor who accepted ordination of women. That was a tense
time to do training. Most of my travel was by air. I took off once to have smoke coming from the cockpit – it
turned out alright. My plane was struck by lightening once, and once we circled for an hour or so with sparks
coming from one engine and on landing were followed by fire trucks. Nevertheless I loved to fly.
Church Involvement
While in college Earl Delp, Jr. and I served as YPCA pastors/teachers, following David Augsburger, at Crest
Hill Mennonite Church in Wardensville, W. Va. Then I started teaching Sunday school at Woodland Mennonite
Church, another Y-church. I became pastor there for one year in 1964, the first year Susan and I were married.
Then we moved to Johnstown to teach and I became the first paid pastor at Carpenter Park Mennonite Church.
After returning to Harrisonburg we were members at Park View Mennonite Church for 25 years. In 1994, we
became part of Immanuel Mennonite Church, in the historic black community of Harrisonburg. I became an
associate pastor part-time there about 5 years ago and continue as part-time pastor along with Angie Williams
who is also serving part-time on an interim basis. This has been a rich experience. In 2004, Susan and I were part
of a team that did service work at the Mennonite Theological College in Eastern Africa in Tanzania. We visited
Immanuel members there and at Roslyn Academy in Nairobi, Kenya. I have also done volunteer work on a short
term basis in Belize and Jamaica. These have been very educational and rewarding occasions.
Family
In 1964, Susan Leaman and I were married, after she completed her BS in Nursing at EMU. Susan worked
in the medical area for many years, but now has her own licensed infant care business. We were blessed with
three children in about that many years. Timothy arrived near Christmas in 1965, Aletha in 1966 and Theodore
in 1968. They all graduated from EMHS. Tim and Theo graduated from EMU, but Aletha chose Goshen
College. Subsequently she completed a PhD in comparative literature at the University of Iowa. Tim married a
fellow EMU student, Belinda Wilfong, and they live in Hagerstown, Maryland. They own and operate Keystone
Sporting Goods. They have two children: Audrey who just turned seven, and Benjamin who turned three.
Aletha married Neal Baker, but kept her name as a professional. They have a son, Luc, who will turn seven
shortly, and lives in a world that includes French as well as English. Both Aletha and Neal are faculty at Earlham
College, a Quaker school in Richmond, Indiana. Theo is not married. He owns a house at Rawley Springs near
Harrisonburg, and works in the commercial irrigation business. JMU is the biggest client. Did you know that
artificial turf is watered before football games? We also serve as grandparents to JR, Josh, Liz and Rachel of the
Basil Marin family.
I have been greatly blessed. I thank God for the many challenging opportunities that have come to me over
these years and for continuing relatively good health. My EMHS experience was a blessing that continued in
many other learning and service experiences. My best wishes to each of you, my high school classmates of 50
years, and to our class adviser! We do have much to celebrate.
—John Stahl, your class poet. (You probably forgot that.)
Dear Classmates,
Fifty years since graduation! I thought only old people had 50 year class reunions.
We still live in Elkton on the farm, but do not farm it ourselves. We rent it out but are in process of selling
part of it. We keep really busy with a big lawn, big garden, freezing corn, canning tomatoes and a lot of weeding
and cultivating. I love the flowers the best. Pick’m, bring them in and enjoy them. Our summers are very busy
and some days I feel like we need to start down sizing.
After working at the Bad Axe Public Schools at the administration office as a bookkeeper for almost 30 years
(29 ½) I retired in 2002. I loved my work there but also knew when it was time to leave.
John Stahl
(