Don C. Snyder, cofounder and former president of Irvine-based Snyder Langston, died of heart disease on Dec. 5.
He was 84.
Snyder and William E. Langston started Snyder Langston, a commercial construction company, in 1959.
Snyder retired from the company in 1986. The privately held company is led by Chief Executive Steve Jones and President John Rochford.
Partners Snyder and Langston both grew up working in their family construction businesses. They first met in Costa Mesa at Alert Construction, a company that they eventually bought and renamed Snyder Langston.
“In 1959, Orange County had a population of about 500,000, and was mostly known for agriculture that consisted of orange groves and fields,” Langston said. “The construction market was predominantly residential housing,apartments, duplexes and single-family homes. Commercial construction was limited, and there was very little industrial activity. In those days, you could build a custom home for $10 per square foot, and a tilt-up industrial building cost about $2 per square foot.”
In the 1960s, Snyder Langston became known for building tilt-up industrial buildings.
From 1964 to 1974, the company built more than 150 auto dealerships in four states. Recent projects include the Tiger Woods Learning Center in Anaheim and work at The Irvine Company’s Irvine Spectrum Center.
Snyder was born in Cummings, Iowa, on April 25, 1921.
“Don’s contribution to the construction industry, as well as his values and ethics at Snyder Langston, will continue to live on in the legacy he established,” Langston said.
Snyder’s wife of 55 years, Billye, and their son, Russ, died earlier.
