Texas A&M Forestry Service Dedicates Bulldozer in Memory of Linn-San Manuel Fire Chief

The Monitor, McAllen, Texas

(TNS)

LINN — The legacy of Shawn Snider, the longtime Edinburg fire chief who died of cancer in May 2023, will live on for years to come thanks to a tribute from the Texas A&M Forestry Service.

On Friday, the Linn-San Manuel Volunteer Fire Department — which hosts the forestry service at its station along State Highway 186 — held a ceremony to dedicate the forestry service's newest piece of equipment for fighting wildland fires in the Rio Grande Valley and across the state.

Dozens of firefighters, including several of Snider's former proteges who now lead departments of their own, attended the dedication ceremony of the bulldozer, which is emblazoned with Snider's callsign, "Eagle 1."

As Snider's brothers-in-arms shared memories of the beloved fire chief, not one could hold back the deep emotion they still feel at his loss nearly two years later.

It began with James DeGrazia, the regional operations chief for the forestry service whose department is responsible for the bulldozer. DeGrazia first met Snider during a 2020 deployment to the Valley.

"My relationship with Shawn was a short one. That does not mean it was not impactful," DeGrazia said, before becoming emotional while describing one of the last meetings he had with the chief at the Edinburg Fire Department.

At the time, the A&M Forestry Service, its staff and equipment were housed alongside Edinburg's own firefighters at Station 1 on West McIntyre Street.

The two met to discuss the region's future firefighting needs, including the Valley's need for a wildland firefighting task force, DeGrazia said.

Already, both he and Snider knew that the fire chief was dying of the cancer he had so valiantly battled for more than 14 years. "Me and Shawn sat eye-to-eye. I was full of emotion, and of course, Shawn, he kept it real, as he always does," DeGrazia said.

"We discussed what we were going to do when we were moving forward. And that was a hard conversation, knowing that the man I was talking to was not going to be a part of it," he said.

But for Snider, it was important to ensure the community's safety in the future he would not see. It was a determination that paid off. The forestry service agreed that the Valley needed a firefighting taskforce.

"It was great pleasure that I stand in front of you today with my task force behind you, as well as Eagle 1 behind me," DeGrazia said, his voice hitching and his words faltering.

He promised that the task force and the "'dozer," as he called the heavy machinery behind him, would "protect and serve for many years to come."

For Octavio "Octi" Hernandez, who serves as the Linn-San Manuel fire chief and as a firefighter with the Pharr Fire Department, there could be no better tribute to Chief Snider than a bulldozer.

Hernandez quipped at how Snider loved to drive 'dozers during the worst conflagrations.

"This was perfect, a bulldozer to represent Shawn, because ... that's exactly what he was for us every day," Hernandez said.

"(He was) the powerful piece of equipment that was always in the frontline pushing forward, clearing the way for us, and giving us that extra push to do what we needed to do," he said.

Snider's widow, Edna Snider, echoed that, explaining that doing the dangerous work of tackling wildfires head-on with a bulldozer was akin to playing, not working, for her husband.

"When there were big fires out here, he liked it because he got to play," Edna Snider said. "He got to drive the 'dozer."

Both she and Hernandez thanked the forestry service for paying such fitting tribute to him.

"He had a great legacy and there was so many things that he had left to do ... This is just one of them," Edna Snider said.

Afterward, more of Snider's colleagues and friends rose to the podium to share their fond recollections, including Hidalgo County Emergency Management Coordinator Ricardo Saldaña, Pharr Fire Chief Pilar Rodriguez, Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr., Linn-San Manuel rancher Carlos Guerra, and others.

Near the end, the man who had the honor of attending to Snider at his death presented Edna Snider with a special gift.

Johnny Garcia, a former Edinburg councilman who also serves as funeral director at Ceballos-Diaz Funeral Home, performed Snider's funeral services.

Garcia explained that he had preserved the Edinburg Fire Department T-shirt Snider last wore and wished to return it to his family.

"Until the last moment, he was a firefighter and a public servant to the community of Edinburg and to the surrounding areas," Garcia said before embracing a tearful Edna.

Moments later, she explained the shirt's significance to the ceremony's attendees.

"That was the most important shirt he wore. He lived in his fire department T-shirts," Edna said, fighting back more tears. "I wanted to make sure that he went out in the T-shirt he loved the most," she said.

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