Lester M. Snyder
Lester M. Snyder, a retired vice president and member of the board of the Arabian-American Oil Company (ARAMCO), died February 10, 2000 in Walnut Creek at the age of 94.
During nearly three decades in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Snyder played a key role in the development of the kingdom's vast oil reserves.
He was born June 13, 1905, on a farm in Marlboro, Ohio. His family moved first to Washington state, then to California.
He graduated second in his class with a degree in civil engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1929 while holding two jobs to help support himself and his family.
He first went to work on the construction of the Hetch Hetchy project to bring water from the Sierra to San Francisco, then went to work for Standard Oil of California.
In 1938, before oil was discovered in the Middle East, he was offered the job of chief engineer in Saudi Arabia.
He was one of only 100 employees who stayed in Saudi Arabia during World War II, a time when most employees and their families were evacuated.
With the discovery of oil, a consortium of oil companies created the Arabian-American Oil Co., or ARAMCO, as it was known. It became a powerful force in the development of the Middle East. During most of his career, Mr. Snyder lived in the Saudi port city of Dhahran.
He retired in 1964 to a home in the Sonoma hills. Later, he moved to Rossmoor, then Walnut Creek.
He was prominently featured in the PBS documentary, "The Prize," which was based on Daniel Yergin's Pulitzer Prize-winning book on the oil industry.
Mr. Snyder is survived by his wife of 47 years, Betty, of Walnut Creek, a son, L. Miles Snyder, of Sacramento, and two grandchildren.