A 66-year-old Orange City man who died during Hurricane Milton was identified as a loving husband and father in a tribute by Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood.
The sheriff wrote in a social media post that Randy Snyder lived in Orange City with Barbara, his wife of 43 years. His daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren live in DeLand.
“His family was his world, and he attended every concert, play, and soccer game the kids had,” the sheriff wrote. “He was just recently celebrating his grandson getting into FSU.”
So far, there have been four deaths related to the storm according to county medical examiner’s office. Two were caused by trees falling on homes. The deceased in these tragedies were a 79-year-old woman in Ormond Beach and a 54-year-old woman in Port Orange.
In the other two cases, the deaths were “medical events.” One occurred while the person was boarding up a home before the storm, and another occurred during storm conditions that prevented an immediate emergency medical response.
Snyder’s cause of death was not immediately released.
Chitwood posted a photo of the two men on the sheriff’s office website.
“When I announced four lives were lost in Volusia County due to Hurricane Milton, I didn’t know Randy Snyder was one of them,” he wrote. “This photo of Randy and me is from the DeLand homecoming parade less than a month ago. His caption was ‘Do you recognize my friend Sheriff Mike Chitwood?'”Chitwood wrote that Snyder’s many friends would tell you that he always made you feel cared for and that he was “excited to see you every time you crossed his path.”
“My heart goes out to this family and each of the families who lost a loved one because of this storm,” Chitwood wrote. “Certainly there are many who knew Randy well, loved him dearly, and are grieving his loss. I am just honored he would call me a friend.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Hurricane victim from Orange City identified
