Clarence Sterling Snead

Published 2:55 pm Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Clarence Sterling Snead of Wilmington, North Carolina, and previously of Lunenburg County, Virginia, son of the late Percy Clarence Snead and Blanche Sterling Overton Snead, passed away on November 13, 2019, in his sleep. He is also preceded in death by his beloved and look-alike brother, James Thomas Snead.

Clarence was the grandson of the late John Thomas Overton and Myra Walker Overton of Lunenburg County, Virginia, and the late James Thomas Snead and Carrie Vaden Shelton Snead of Pittsylvania County, Virginia.

Clarence was born September 30, 1940, in Lunenburg County, Virginia, at the ole home place. He was the oldest of four children and was educated in the Lunenburg County public school system. He grew up on the Snead family farm where he learned to hunt and fish. Always the avid outdoorsman, Clarence was a member of several local hunting clubs, including Rock Bridge Hunt Club, which is located on the family farm. He enjoyed the comradery and friendships that came with the hunting club. Clarence had many friends, most of whom he had known since childhood. He loved animals. Walker Hounds, in particular, were his favorite. He enjoyed training dogs to hunt and could recognize each dog by their bark. He loved to watch and listen as the dogs ran through the woods tracking game. He was a skilled rifleman and a gun collector. His favorite guns were the ones passed down from generations before him.

He liked to get up early and enjoyed a good hearty breakfast. He spent many mornings after retirement having breakfast at the community table at Victoria Restaurant. Lunenburg County was in his blood and he felt like the folks in the county were his family. Since an early age, Clarence worked on the family farm, helping to raise tobacco along with most of the food they ate. Besides a huge garden, the family raised hogs, chickens and cattle. He married his high school sweetheart, Barbara Jean Ellington Snead in 1964 at Victoria Baptist Church in Victoria, VA. After marrying, Clarence continued to raise tobacco on the side but went to work at Columbia Gas Systems. The marriage produced two loving daughters. Like he and his brother, his daughters are close in age and are often mistaken for one another. His girls were always the center of his life. He never missed a ballgame or school performance in which they were involved. He instilled the value of family and loyalty in his girls as he had been taught by his parents. His grandchildren brought him great pride as well. He loved spending time with them and watching them grow. His mechanical mind was passed down to his grandson and his love of animals is seen clearly in his granddaughter.

After over 25 years at Columbia Gas Systems, Clarence retired to full-time farm life. Having grown up on the farm, Clarence was always the happiest at the farm. Even in his later years, Clarence longed to drive his tractor and be out on the farm.

Clarence is survived by his beloved family – children and their spouses, Wendy Snead Wrigglesworth (Jim) and Crystal Snead Hunt (Pete) of Wilmington, North Carolina; grandchildren, James Battle Wrigglesworth and Valley Elizabeth Hunt; two sisters, Alice Snead Yeatts of Burkeville, Virginia, and Nancy Lee Snead of Lunenburg Courthouse, Virginia, and many cousins.

Funeral services were held Saturday, November 16, 2019 at 11:00 A.M. at the Victoria Baptist Church, in Victoria, Virginia with private interment. Clarence was laid to rest among members of his family at Tussekiah Baptist Church graveyard in Meherrin, Virginia. Please consider memorial donations to Victoria Fire and Rescue Squad, Victoria, Virginia.

Online condolences may be sent by visiting: clarkeandstaples.com.