The Cullen College of Engineering extends its condolences to the family of Gerlene “Gerri” R. Snider, a longtime benefactor to the College and the University of Houston.
Along with her husband Larry, a UH alumnus, she established the R. Larry and Gerlene (Gerri) R. Snider Endowed Chair in Industrial Engineering. The $1 million gift given by the Sniders provided for the first fully funded endowed chair in the department's history.
“Gerri, along with her husband Larry Snider, was a big supporter of UH industrial engineering,” Gino Lim, the current holder and first recipient of the chairmanship, wrote in an announcement to the department. “Please keep the Snider family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this difficult time.”
Working full-time to put himself through college, Larry earned his bachelor's degree in process engineering in 1955, a combination of industrial and chemical engineering. Gerri also worked full-time and managed their household. For decades, the Sniders have been passionate supporters of the university and steadfast proponents of hard working students. They are currently funding three scholarships at Cullen College – one for Native Americans, in honor of Larry’s membership in the Cherokee Nation, and two scholarships for women in honor of their daughters Melody Kathryn and Rebecca Lee.
In 2015, the Sniders started a $4.2 million testamentary charitable gift annuity supporting the future success of the UH Cullen College of Engineering. Larry served as the UH Alumni Association President from 1991-1992, received the UH Engineering Alumni Association's Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award in 1991 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. He and Gerri are also members of the Cullen College Bridge Builder Society.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at the chapel in the Memorial Oaks Cemetery on Katy Freeway in Houston at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. Donations in lieu of flowers maybe sent to First United Methodist Church Day School Scholarship fund.
An obituary for Gerri Snider can be read here.