MANSFIELD – Charles "Gene" Snider, 77, passed away at 11:30 p.m. Sept. 30, 2008, at the Champaign County Nursing Home in Urbana.

Blair-Owens Funeral Home in Mahomet will inter Mr. Snider at Danville National Cemetery at a later date.

Gene was born on May 31, 1931, in Urbana, a son of Max and Lois (Funk) Snider. He married Sandra Day on Nov. 19, 1995, in Urbana.

Survivors include his wife, Sandra, of Mahomet; one son, Michael (Sonya Scott) Snider of Champaign; and two daughters, Kelley Snider of Oakland, Calif., and Shannon (Mitch Paliga) Snider of Berwyn, Ill. Gene also has two stepdaughters, Ginni (Wade) Maddox of Hampden, Maine, and Bekki (Doug) Palm of Oakwood; one stepson, Tom (Wendy) Day of Danville; and five stepgrandchildren.

He was a life member of VFW Post 5520, American Legion Post 24 and the Elks Club.

Gene was a proud veteran and served with the Marines during the Korean War from 1951 to 1954.

Gene graduated from the U of I in 1959 as a civil engineer, earning retirement in 1995.