Stanley Snider, 94, Chairman Emeritus of Stanmar, Inc. based in Wayland, MA died at his home in Needham, MA on Monday, April 4, 2022.

For nearly a quarter century, Stanley was one of the largest private employers in Vermont and helped turn the town of Cambridge, where he was the largest taxpayer and employer, into a “resort town.”

In 1968, Thomas Watson, IBM’s CEO and the Steve Jobs of his era, hired Stanley to develop real estate at Smugglers’ Notch Resort (“Smuggs”), where Watson had just built a ski lift on Morse Mountain and wanted to develop the base so, as at Vail, CO, skiers could walk from a condo to the ski lift. Watson also owned a third of the adjacent Stowe ski resort and in 1957 launched the semiconductor manufacturing facility in nearby Essex Junction, today owned by GlobalFoundries. Skiing at Smuggs was a draw for recruiting workers to Watson’s nearby plant.

Watson, who had served as Stanley’s mentor, had a heart attack in late 1970. In 1973, he sold the resort to Stanley, excluding the 1,500 acre Sterling Forest (also known as “Watson Forest”), which covered the backside of Madonna Mountain and is now a beloved public hiking area. Stanley, in turn, would “sell” the Resort in November 1996 to the man he had hired as its manager, just as Watson had done with him. The last payment to Stanmar as part of that transaction did not occur until March 2021.

Depending on the methodology used to count, Stanley was also one of the largest private employers in the State of Vermont. The resort was like a combination private business and local government, as the town provided the resort with few services. The vast majority of the more than 1,000 “employees” on the payroll were seasonal help for services such as ski school, ski patrol, ski trail maintenance, housekeeping, children’s camps, food services, tennis instruction, swimming pool operations, grounds maintenance, home maintenance, real estate sales, trash collection, security, water and sewage processing, and road maintenance. At one time or another in their lives, a remarkable percentage of Vermonters in both Chittenden and Lamoille counties have worked at the resort—to say nothing of having had a family member ski there. Today, Smuggs has 686 homes, nine ski lifts, and fourteen swimming areas.

Stanley, other than building Smuggs, was notable for shifting the resort’s focus to the family market—and for summer in addition to winter activities. Originally, Watson sought to compete directly with Stowe. He gave Stanley a list of his high-tech friends, and they tended to serve as the original nucleus for the Village at Smugglers’ Notch. Watson himself had his vacation home at the nearby base of Mt. Mansfield, where he would invite Stanley’s family for his annual Christmas party, an exciting event for Stanley’s children. After buying the resort, Stanley decided he didn’t want to compete with Stowe, which is why he did everything he could to attract families, especially families with young children. No other ski resort at the time was similarly focused on that market. Today, it’s a much more competitive market. But Smuggs has continued to be recognized for its excellence in serving that market.

In the early 1960s, before Watson invited Stanley to develop Smugglers’ Notch Resort, Stanley was the A-frame king, building hundreds of A-frame vacation homes (also called ski chalets) throughout New England. For Maria von Trapp, he also built the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, which would burn down and be replaced by the current lodge. The early 1960s was a period when skiing greatly expanded as a recreational activity in both Vermont and the U.S. more generally.

Stanley’s family has owned a home at Smugglers’ Notch Resort since 1969. Stanley’s younger son, formerly of Burlington, has spent time at the resort every year since 1968 and in the early 1990s served two terms on the Burlington School Board. One of his granddaughters, Pallas Snider Ziporyn (Christopher Ziporyn), and three of his great grandchildren, live in South Burlington.

Stanley’s wife, Mary Ann, designed the interior of every home in the Village at Smugglers’ Notch. She was the “mar” in Stanmar, the parent company that owned the resort.

Stanley was the second of four generations to lead the family building businesses. From the original family business, started by his father, Harry, Stanley created Stanmar, a company he was fiercely proud of. His hero was Henry David Thoreau, whose writings inspired him during his youth to pursue his quest for individuality—his willingness to swim against the tide, an attribute of Stanley’s entire life. Always innovative and a problem solver, Stanley anticipated the future, hence the title of his memoir, Mr. What If.

Stanley shifted his company into building suburban churches, YMCA’s, and then vacation and residential communities. He and Mary Ann worked together to create these residential communities, delighting in providing meaningful multigenerational experiences and lifestyles for others to enjoy that continue to this day. As Stanley liked to say, “Community building was our business.” Today, Stanmar is a leading designer and builder of facilities for private schools, universities, Boys and Girls Clubs and country clubs, and a developer and operator of unique island resorts.

Stanley and Mary Ann loved to travel, especially to Japan where they shared a passion for Japanese landscaping, culture and pottery; they loved to ski and bike ride, always meeting new friends along the way and creating meaning in the lives of others. They were avid art collectors and lifetime supporters of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.

Stanley created the Summer Institute on Martha’s Vineyard at the Hebrew Center in the 1990’s—a think tank of speakers and topics intended to provoke discussion and togetherness. Today the Summer Institute is a robust organization with broad appeal and interest throughout the island.

A graduate of Phillips Academy, Harvard University, and Harvard Business School, Stanley continued to learn throughout his life. To keep his mind active year-round and to stimulate others, after retirement from Stanmar, Stanley started many men’s discussion groups in Boston, Martha’s Vineyard and in Jupiter, FL, making new and close friends along the way at every turn.

Stanley is survived by his beloved wife, Mary Ann (Kane) of 68 years, his two sons, Mark and J.H. (“Jim”), and their spouses, Gwenn (Masterman) and Terra (Ziporyn), six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Family Information

Submitted by:

J.H. Snider

Source: Stanley Snider, one of Vermont’s largest employers, developer of Smugglers’ Notch Resort, great-grandfather, VTDigger, April 18, 2022.

Mary Ann Snider

Mary Ann Snider, 89, died at her home in Needham, Mass., on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. For nearly a quarter century, Mary Ann and her late husband Stanley Snider, via Stanmar, Inc. and its wholly owned local subsidiary, Smugglers’ Notch Resort, were one of the largest private employers in Vermont and helped turn the town of Cambridge, where the resort was the largest taxpayer and employer, into a resort town.

Mary Ann was the “mar” in Stanmar, the company they jointly formed shortly after they were married in 1954.

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Raised in Springfield, Mass., and Beverly Hills, Calif., Mary Ann graduated from Beverly Hills High School and attended both Stanford University and Wellesley College, where she majored in political science and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She then attended the year-long Harvard-Radcliffe program in business administration, described by the Harvard Business School as “the first daring experiment in ‘practical education’ for women.”

Courses and professors were the same as the all-male business school, and a decade later, in 1963, the two programs would merge.

Mary Ann applied her lifelong love of art and design to both her professional and personal life. Her father had run a group of furniture stores, and she combined the practical knowledge of the furniture industry she gained from him with her interest in art to become an interior designer. Many of her furniture vendors were based in Rutland, then a national center for furniture making.

Mary Ann designed the interior of hundreds of homes and several of the restaurants at the Village at Smugglers’ Notch. Also helpful was her knack for organizing thoughtful and creative social events and putting guests at ease since, in the early years of the resort, word-of-mouth among existing homeowners was critical to home sales. These skills were most famously used to expertly host Tom Watson, the CEO of IBM and Steve Jobs of his era, who visited the Sniders in 1968.

Shortly after that visit, Watson, who became Stanley’s mentor, hired Stanley to develop real estate at Smugglers’ Notch Resort where Watson had just built a ski lift on Morse Mountain and wanted to develop the base so skiers could walk from a condo to the ski lift.

In 1957 Watson launched the IBM semiconductor manufacturing facility in nearby Essex Junction, today owned by GlobalFoundries. Skiing at Smuggs was a draw for recruiting workers to Watson’s nearby plant.

In 1973 Watson sold the resort to Stanley, excluding the 1,500-acre Sterling Forest, which covered the backside of Madonna Mountain and is now a beloved public hiking area. Stanley, in turn, would sell the resort in November 1996 to William Stritzler, the man he had hired as its manager, just as Watson had done with him.

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Mary Ann was also a world traveler, repository of family memorabilia, art collector and philanthropist. Remembering how a Jewish community organization had helped her father, a first-generation immigrant, she was particularly committed to helping Jewish organizations and for many years served on the board of Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital.

Mary Ann also became a docent at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and a collector of contemporary art, including a large collection of Japanese bamboo baskets and ceramics that she and Stanley lovingly assembled during their many trips to Japan and eventually donated to the museum. Her homes in Newton and Martha’s Vineyard felt like art museums, showcasing works of original art.

Mary Ann loved to ski, especially with Stanley. They had a ski-based honeymoon in the Alps in 1954, skied at Stowe in the following years, and instilled a love for both skiing and Vermont in their children and grandchildren. The Snider family has owned a home at Smugglers’ Notch Resort since 1969.

Mary Ann’s younger son, J.H., formerly of Burlington, has spent time at the resort every year since 1968 and in the early 1990s served two terms on the Burlington School Board. One of her granddaughters, Pallas Snider Ziporyn (Christopher Ziporyn), and three of her great grandchildren, live in South Burlington.

Mary Ann is survived by her two sons, Mark and his wife, Gwenn of Chestnut Hill, Mass., and James (J.H.) and his wife, Terra of Severna Park, Md.; six grandchildren, Oliver (Yaoyao), Annie, Matthew, Pallas (Chris), Sage (Kevin) and Solon (Emma); four great-grandchildren; and her brother, Joel Kane (Sara).

Funeral services were held at Temple Beth Elohim, 10 Bethel Road, Wellesley on Tuesday, Aug. 16 at 10:30 a.m. with an interment to follow at Crawford Street Memorial Park, 776 Baker Street, West Roxbury.

The service can also be watched on Zoom at tinyurl.com/Mary-Ann-Snider. Shiva will be held following interment at Mark and Gwenn’s home at The Farm at Chestnut Hill, 99-60 Florence Street, Apartment 2-B, Chestnut Hill, Mass., until 7:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to TBE Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund at Temple Beth Elohim. 10 Bethel Road, Wellesley MA 02481, or The MFA Fund, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston MA 02115.

Source: Mary Ann Snider, News & Citizen, August 18, 2022.