USATF South Carolina said in a statement today longtime athlete and official Lillian Snaden passed away Tuesday. "I will miss her dearly," said Valerie Beesley of USATF S.C. "No matter how tired I was she always found me at the end of each day of the track meet in the summer and give me a hug and tell me what a great job I was doing and how thankful she was for all the hard workers at the meet. I was always in amazement that she firstly would and could find me, secondly that I always felt the officials and all day volunteers were the hardest workers out there in the summer weather elements and yet here she was thanking me."
Snaden's obituary at scnow.com.
Snaden and her husband Bill have been fixtures in the track and field community for over 30 years, the association said.
"Lillian was a very special woman," said former USATF state association president Jimmy Stephens. "She was one of the most kindhearted and hard working people I have ever met. At 79 years of age she was officiating and competing in track and field competitions up until last year. We will all miss her smile and spirit."
"She will always be an inspiration to me," Beesley said. "Even at her age she kept competing and breaking records each time! Every summer she and Bill would call me and be sure they had a spot officiating at the JO meet. It's not often that officials actually seek you out to work, normally you are chasing them. She truly loved the sport and I always felt she always gave to the sport much more than it could ever give back to her. She will dearly be missed by all of us."