PROFILE ON GARY MARK SNYDER
My brother Gary was born May 2 , 1938 in Iowa. He has another brother 2 years
older, a brother 13 years younger and me (his sister) 2 years younger . Our
parents were married 53 years before our dad died 6/24/88 and our mother died
6/7/89.
Gary was always a practical joker and kind of a loner. He would write little
jokes and sayings in my mother's cookbooks and "Kilroy was here" on the stair­case
cei ling, inside the medicine cabinet and everywhere! After school he would
come straight home and listen to the radio shows instead of doing sports. His
best friend in grade school was a black boy named Beverly Taylor . They would
always take their dogs and play in the woods . As a teenager, Gary had a pet
owl he named Melvin. He had found him injured in the woods . Gary always loved
animals. Gary was always ambitious. He worked at a grocery store at about age
14 and saved a ll his money to buy his first car .
Gary did quit school to join the Air Force at 17. Unfo=tunatcly, be was discharged
and served one year for smoking marijuana . That was the only time I know of that
he was in trouble , except about 15 years ago he was arrested at the airport . My
older brother and Gary were taking my sister-in-law to the airport . Gary was
joking, as usual, with the ticket clerk , and then said "she has a bomb in her
suitcase". Unfortunately, my brother Gary didn ' t realize that he was different
and other people who didn't know him would not share bis sense of humor. Another
time in high school he got in a little trouble for telling other kids he was
taking drugs. Actually it was only toothache medicine .
Gary got married in 19 59 and moved to Hermosa Beach (from Iowa) with his wife,
Sharon. They bad four children and were married 28 years until she died of cancer
in 1988. He spent every day with ·her at the hospital before she died. Gary had
his own towing business for probably 20 year s, with her help. Over the years he
did a lot of towing for the police impound yard in the Van Nuys area . He just
stopped working when his wife got sick .
During their years together there were many people who lived with them at one
time or another. Gary had a heart of gold and would not turn anyone in need away.
His mother-in-law lived with them for many years and were good fr iends to the end.
I lived in his guest house at one time. His four kids lived with him until just
shortly before his death. They had to move out because of Tina Rathje (in the news
article) - she was just too weird . Tina Rathje is our cousin ' s stepdaughter who
came uninvited to California on a bus with her 2- year old kid and moved in 9/88.
Later Tina sent her child back to the grandparents in Iowa. They had been trying
to get legal custody . Tina had a history of being in trouble and being a bad
mother . She may be retarded and I hear she is working as a prostitute now in the
Van Nuys area. I cannot believe that Gary hit her that night. I cannot condone
it if he did no matter what she may have done to provoke it. During my whole life
I only saw Gary lose his temp er once when his wife poured a bottle of whiskey out .
But, he didn 't touch her. Gary was a real mellow person. My brother had recently
taken William Burt (in the article) in and was taking care of him . Billy Burt had
head injuries from being beaten with a c lub when he was robbed. The school bus in
page 2
the article was where Billy Burt had to live before Gary took him in. The other
woman, Jill Croteau, was just a friend who stopped by that night.
Gary rarely left his house. I bet he had no idea he would be killed in his own
house that night if he didn ' t come out.
When our father died 6/24/88 Gary came to Iowa for the funeral and stayed a couple
months. He visited my mother every day at the nursing home she was in. She was
paralyzed and brain- damaged from a massive stroke . I wish he hadn ' t come to the
funeral because that's where he met Tina who ruined our lives.
I last saw my brother Gary on May 30, 1989 - just two days before his death. I
spent most of the day with him. He was not suicidal. I talked to him about
selling his house and moving to Johnson Valley where he could live in the open
away from the harrassment of the city. The city had recently made him get rid of
all his antique cars fenced in his back yard .
Gary was a good guy with a heart of gold and there are many who can attest to this.
Why did the LAPD have to kill him just because he was different?