Former Calhoun County Sheriff Roy Snead Jr. dies

Sep. 21—Former Calhoun County Sheriff Roy C. Snead, Jr., who held the post for 25 years, has died at age 81.

The veteran law enforcement officer died peacefully at his home in Weaver on Sept. 16, his son, Roy Bert Snead, said.

Sheriff Snead's memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Anniston Memorial Funeral Home with interment at the Greenlawn Cemetery in Jacksonville.

The Calhoun County Sheriff's office will honor the former sheriff with a full law enforcement ceremonial service, Sheriff Matthew Wade said.

"The way I see it, he earned the honor of a law enforcement ceremonial service. It would be our honor to provide that to them, if they so wanted," Wade said.

There will be a full honor guard on site, a flag folding for the family, a 21-gun salute and a procession of law enforcement to take him to his final resting place.

"Being sheriff is a tough and difficult job, and for Sheriff Snead to be able to do that for 25 years, our county is indebted to him and his service," Wade said.

Snead assumed the duties of the office in 1970 after being appointed to fill the office by Gov. Albert Brewer after his father, Roy Snead, Sr., who had just been reelected as sheriff, died before beginning another term.

Before becoming sheriff, Snead obtained a business degree from Jacksonville State University and served under his father for eight years as deputy sheriff.

"I've always looked up to him, and he was always 'sheriff,' even after he was out of office," Oxford Fire Chief Gary Sparks said.

The late sheriff had been a longtime friend of Sparks' family, acting as a pallbearer at Sparks' father's funeral, Sparks said.

Sparks said his father and Sheriff Snead became friends while his father was an auxiliary state trooper, and that the man became a fixture in his life at a young age. He was the only sheriff he knew.

"He and my dad were real close. Daddy would take him stuff out of the garden," Sparks continued. "He was the type of sheriff that would try to help people, even the people he had to put in jail or their families. He would do everything he could to help them. That was just the way he was."

The late sheriff's son, Bert Snead, told The Anniston Star that Sparks' comments were correct.

"Even after he was out of office, he continued to help people as much as he could," Snead said. "The last several years he's been in poor health, and I think that bothered him the most because he wasn't able to help the people like he's always done."

Sheriff Snead told The Anniston Star in a campaign article in September 1982 that he saw himself as a "people's sheriff."

"Being a sheriff is a lot like being a preacher or a welfare worker. Normally I don't get mad at folks. I try to show a little compassion and help people," the sheriff said at the time.

Defeated for re-election in 1994, Snead served until the end of his term in January 1995. During his years in office, although the county wasn't overflowing with money at the time, the late sheriff pushed to get a new jail built with new offices, which was a "big improvement" from what they had, according to Sparks.

He continued his public service as a public dispatcher for the Anniston Rescue Squad before enjoying retirement in the Weaver community.

Survivors include his wife, Shirley Goodwin Snead; his children, Sharon Beatty, and Roy Bert Snead; his grandchildren Justin Beatty, Kaylee Snead and William Snead; and brother, Robert Allen Snead.

In a text message to a Star reporter, the Snead family issued the following statement:

"Dad was a dedicated public servant who strived to always live up to the highest ideals and responsibilities of his oath and his office. He was the embodiment of what we all want our elected leaders to be: caring, diligent, accessible, and loyal. For him, being the Sheriff of Calhoun County wasn't just a job it was his purpose and calling. He was tireless in devoting himself to whatever his duties required — anytime or anywhere. We, along with so many others, will deeply miss him."

The Snead family requests instead of flowers, donations be made to the Meals on Wheels program of Calhoun County.