Dana Paul Eugene Snyder, an Amherst farmer who made his career as a professor of zoology at the University of Massachusetts, died peacefully in his sleep on November 18, 2015 surrounded by his loving family.

He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on April 29, 1922, the son of Golda Tie Crum and Mark Eugene Snyder, and was raised in Modesto, Illinois. He earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois and went on to earn his PhD in Zoology from the University of Michigan. He did his dissertation on the field study of small mammals, his favorite of which was the eastern chipmunk.

In his freshman year of college, he was called to service in the United States Army, where he served from 1942 to 1946. He subsequently returned to his studies.

Dana married Mary Elizabeth Sumner in Brushton, Pennsylvania in June, 1952. They both worked at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, she for ten years and he for two, before moving to Amherst, where they settled and raised their four children.

He was a professor of zoology at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst from 1955 until his retirement in 1985. One of his greatest loves was working on his farmland. For many years, into his nineties, Dana could be seen at all hours of the day riding his tractor, haying, wielding his chainsaw, or just walking with Mary on the land. In later years, he and Mary leased their farmland to Brookfield Farms, a local CSA farm.

Dana took great pride in restoring his and Mary’s 1760s-eras old saltbox house and barns on Bay Road. He was meticulously careful to maintain the historic integrity of the house as it was restored.

He served on many local committees, including the Amherst Farm Committee and as an Amherst Town Meeting member. He was a lifelong proponent of preserving open space, farmland and protecting water sheds. In the 1970s, he was the co-leader of the Amherst Growth Study Committee, an effort to restrict overdevelopment in Amherst. Dana and Mary’s sixty-acre Amherst farm was among the first to be part of the Agricultural Preservation Program.

He leaves his wife of 62 years, Mary Snyder; his four children, Mark Snyder and his wife Denise of Geneva, Illinois, Amy Snyder and her husband Gordon Gieg of Charlotte, Vermont, Tod Snyder and his wife Deborah of Mansfield, Massachusetts, Ellen Snyder and her husband Srini Srinivasan of Newmarket, New Hampshire, and seven grandchildren, Reid Snyder, Brynn Hanson, William Snyder, Robert Snyder, Jason Snyder, Lia Gieg and Rosie Gieg.

Those who wish to call on the family may do so on Friday, November 27, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at their home in Amherst. An outdoor memorial service will be held in spring of 2016.

Donations in Dana’s memory may be made to the Kestrel Land Trust, P.O. Box 1016, Amherst, MA 01002.