Randolph Taylor Snively, 92, of Upper Arlington, passed from this life December 25, at Kobacker House. Throughout a seven-year battle with chronic leukemia, increasing deafness, and the gradual loss of the ability to walk, he remained steadfastly patient and determined, and had lived at home until ten days before his death.

Randy was born March 10, 1919 in Fort Dodge, Iowa, where his parents, Edward Taylor Snively and Winifred Rachel (Morris) Snively were high school teachers. His mother died in February 1924, and from 1931 Randy and his sister Connie and their father lived with Edward’s two sisters in Chicago. From his father and aunts, Randy imbibed frugal habits and an active concern for the vulnerable or disadvantaged, characteristics he retained throughout his life.

Randy graduated from Hyde Park High School in 1937 and from the nearby University of Chicago in 1940, with a degree in statistics. He lived at home but was much engaged with campus activities, especially the American Student Union, with whom he worked in support of the American Peace movement, racial equality, and asylum for European refugees.

His graduate work was cut short in July, 1941 by induction into the U.S. Army, where he rose to the rank of Master Sergeant. At a USO dance in Washington, D.C., in 1942, he met his lifelong partner, Janet Hamilton Watson, who had just finished her freshman year at the College of William and Mary. They were wed in Chicago, on February 28, 1943.

After honorable discharge from the Army in 1945, and a short stint working for Standard Oil, Randy joined the Accounting Department at Illinois Bell Telephone, where he remained until his retirement in 1983. Beginning in 1976, he was a charter member of CHIP, a Chicago computer users group, which later gave him a lifetime membership. He and Janet moved in 1951 to Glen Ellyn, twenty-five miles west of Chicago, where they were active members of the First Congregational Church and where they raised their sons Edward and John to adulthood.

Randy and Janet’s son Edward started losing his vision in early childhood and was eventually diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa. Helping Ed to be as independent as possible became and remained a central focus in Randy’s life, but he also, characteristically, reached out to others with similar issues. In 1963 he helped found the West Suburban Association for the Other Child. He was later a director for the Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, and for five years edited and produced a monthly newsletter, “ACLD Items of Interest.”

Randy, Janet and Edward moved to Upper Arlington, Ohio in January, 1996, to be closer to John and his family. They joined the nearby North Congregational Church, where they were active in many study and service activities and made many new friends.

They enjoyed eating out at a variety of local restaurants, especially the nearby Tim Horton’s, and frequently shared lunch at the Upper Arlington Senior Center. Active members of the Ohio State University Center for Wellness and Prevention, Randy, Janet and Edward were familiar participants at the warm-water pool classes and Body Recall classes.

Randy was preceded in death by his brother, Morris Edward, in 1915, and his sister Constance Ellen (Snively) Strobl, in 1998. He is survived by his wife Janet, sons Edward and John (Therese), grandchildren Michael and Rachel Snively, niece Cecilia (Russ) Hofmann and nephew Robert Strobl, great-nephews Jon (Dorigen) and Ben (Lila) Hofmann, great-great-niece Rosalind Ellen Hofmann, and first cousins Robert Snively of Los Angeles, CA and Kathryn Farrow of New Port Richey, FL.

Inurnment was private, at Union Cemetery. Arrangements were made by Cook & Son - Pallay Funeral Home; on-line guestbook at www.cookandsonpallay.com.

A memorial service will be held at noon, January 14 at North Congregational Church, 2040 West Henderson. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 1311 Mamaroneck Avenue, Suite 310, White Plains, NY 10605, or to North Congregational Church.