FORNEY, TX — Live sound engineer and radio personality Chester Roy “Royboy” Snyder passed away on July 7, 2023. He was 70.
Born October 21, 1952, Snyder had an interest in music and audio electronics from an early age. From 1973 to 1975, he studied in the Radio-Television-Film department at the University of Texas at Austin, earning an honors degree in the process.
Soon after, he was offered a position at Dallas-based pioneering sound company Showco, which had established itself as a major player in the booming market for large-scale concert sound systems. Snyder’s friendly and easygoing attitude, serious work ethic, basic audio chops and willingness to learn made him fit right in with the Showco team and he was hired in December, 1975.
During his eight-year tenure at Showco, he toured with many entertainers, such as Paul McCartney, Wings, The Rolling Stones, Van Halen and Willie Nelson. While working with Paul McCartney, Synder was given the nickname “Royboy” and it stuck with him.
Snyder also worked on several award-winning films, including Honeysuckle Rose (1980), RoboCop (1987), To Heal a Nation (1988) and the TV biopic Elvis and Me (1988).
Later, returning to the entertainment industry, Roy volunteered at Dallas-based KNON 89.3 community radio station, hosting mostly lively music-oriented shows and interviews as part of The Texas Renegades series, where he was known as “The Old Hippie RoyBoy from Forney, Texas.” It was the ideal creative outlet for Snyder after many years of retirement and family responsibilities.
Two celebration of life memorials were held for Snyder, Aug. 5-6, 2023 at the First Baptist Church in Forney and at the Sons of Herman Hall in Dallas. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in the name of Royboy Snyder can be made to radio station KNON at www.knon.org/pledge-now.
