Jane Snyder - RIP

[Guest guest]

PTManagers

The PT world has lost a great leader and good friend.

Jane is a great example of leadership and vision for Physical Therapists.

Jane, You will be missed.

You really made a difference.

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Snyder, Lincoln leader, dies at 66

By WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Posted: 10/06/2011 10:26 AM

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LINCOLN - She knew she wouldn't survive to see the opening of Lincoln's new

arena, but former Lincoln City Councilwoman Jayne Snyder said she could

almost hear the crowd cheering as she envisioned that day.

A Rolling Stones concert, she thought, would be the perfect first show for

the new facility, slated to open in September 2013.

" I'm probably showing my age with that, " she joked in an interview last

month on Lincoln's public access TV channel, shortly after her failing

health forced her to resign from the council.

Snyder, 66, who had served on the council for two years, died just before

midnight Wednesday after a 15-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Her

funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at First-Plymouth Congregational

Church in Lincoln.

In an announcement Thursday, Lincoln Mayor Beutler described her as a

" true public servant who left a lasting impact on the City of Lincoln. "

" It's quite a loss, for the community as well as for the family, " said

Dennis Grams, Snyder's first cousin and former director of the Nebraska

Department of Environmental Quality.

Founder of Snyder Physical Therapy in Lincoln, Snyder was a runner and a

longtime advocate for the Lincoln trails system. She also had served on the

Lincoln-Lancaster County Board of Health.

Snyder was elected to the City Council in May 2009. After Lincoln voters

approved construction of the arena in May 2010, the first-year council

member was tapped to be chairwoman of the West Haymarket Joint Public

Agency, the governing board responsible for the project.

University of Nebraska Regent Tim Clare served with her on that governing

board.

He said he and his family had been friends with her for a quarter century.

His father, Lincoln orthopedic surgeon Pat Clare, worked closely with Snyder

in her physical therapy practice.

Clare said Snyder had a national reputation in her profession.

" She was a pioneer in the field, she was ahead of her time, " he said. " She

was an outstanding, compassionate, very bright, very capable professional.

She carried that discipline with her into everything she did. "

In fact, he said, University of Nebraska Medical Center faculty told him at

a recent regents meeting that they were hearing inquiries about Snyder's

health from physical therapists across the country. Grams said his cousin

made such close friends with other physical therapists across the country

that several came to stay with her and help care for her during her final

illness.

Clare credited Snyder's consensus-building and transparent style for winning

broad community support for the arena.

Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne said Snyder had worked with a number

of NU athletes during her career as a physical therapist.

" She was very professional in everything she did, very competent - and those

of us in athletics appreciated it. "

Snyder was divorced and had no children. Her parents are no longer living

and her only brother was killed in a National Guard plane crash in 1969,

said Grams, who said Snyder doted on his children and grandchildren.

He described Snyder as a talented businesswoman and entrepreneur as well as

an active member of the community. Her run for City Council was the

fulfillment of a longtime dream.

" She always wanted to be in the political world - she had that itch, " he

said. " If she was going to stay alive, she probably would have run for

higher office. She was good at bringing people together. I don't know of

anybody who didn't like her. "

Snyder kept working even after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in

July 2010. Saying she'd never missed a day of work because of illness,

Snyder said at the time she was surprised by the diagnosis. It came only a

short time after she ran a marathon in April 2010.

She continued to serve on the council while receiving treatment, but stepped

down Sept. 11, only days after attending a groundbreaking ceremony for the

arena.

" I wanted the groundbreaking before I became too ill, " she said in the

interview afterward. " I know I won't make it to the first opening, but I

very much can dream and think about the first show and the first opening of

the arena. "

A trails center now under construction at Lincoln's Union Plaza will be

named in Snyder's honor.

Former State Sen. Di Schimek of Lincoln, a Democrat, recently was

appointed to serve out the remainder of Snyder's term on the council. She

has said she will run for the seat in 2013. Beutler announced Thursday that

he had selected Council Chairman Gene Carroll for Snyder's seat on the arena

governing board. The selection is up for a council vote on Oct. 17.

Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

PKovacek@...

Cell (313) 492-4293

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