William Riley Snell
Jun 24, 1949 -
Sep 7, 2025
"Your wings were ready but our hearts were not."
William Riley Snell III passed away on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, at the Sentara RMH Hospital in Harrisonburg, Va. Riley was born in Oak Hill, W.Va., on June 24, 1949. He was the son of Fred P. Snell and Ruth Elizabeth (Creger) Snell. In 1965, Riley's family moved to Alaska - where he later attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks, worked and remained a permanent resident until his passing.
Riley served in several capacities while employed by the State of Alaska. His work with the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (1968-1988) included duties as a Planning Manager, Director of Planning and Programming, and Deputy Commissioner of the Central/Southcentral Region. From 1989-1996, he held the positions of Deputy Director of Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority and later served as Executive Director. Some of the Authority's projects included the FedEx Hangar, Healy Clean Coal and the Red Dog Mine.
In 1996, Riley moved into the private sector by accepting the position of Vice-President and General Manager of Cable TV for GCI. His civil engineering background, knowledge of Alaska and his people and management skills served GCI well. He led the operational integration of multiple cable systems around the state of Alaska which led to a statewide internet backbone that became key to GCI's growth.
Riley joined JL Properties, a real estate development and investment firm, in 2005, and served as Executive Vice President of Operations. During his years at JL, Riley both led a team of over 150 people in the operation of commercial real assets across Alaska and oversaw the company's acquisition and operation of Alaska Waste - which grew to provide refuse collection services across the Railbelt. Riley served as a mentor to many of the management team still at JL Properties.
Following his "official" retirement in 2018, Riley formed his own WRS Consulting/Management Services LLC. This allowed him to continue his gift of sharing knowledge with others in his well-known selfless and humble manner. He was indeed a mentor to many.
Riley enjoyed following his favorite sports teams - the Redskins, Seahawks, Red Sox, Celtics, Capitals and, of course, the WV Mountaineers. He was an avid reader who often switched between two or three books being read at the same time. Riley liked history - especially books about WWII - and legal/suspense novels. However, his deepest passion was fishing - both fly fishing and spin fishing. Whether fishing on the New River in West Virginia, at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia, or on the Agulowak in Alaska, Riley found fishing to be a peaceful escape from demanding daily routines.
Riley was a man of strong character - showing great strength and fortitude. He had a deep faith in God and sincerely believed that all things work together for good. Riley was always thoughtful of how others felt - never being overbearing regarding his own belief in God. His faith was shown through his kindness and generosity to others.
Riley is survived by his wife, Barbie (Sites) Snell; and his loyal companion, silver lab, Koda. Also, surviving are Riley's sister, Susan Snell Morris; niece, Lisa Smith (husband Dustin and sons Troy and Evan) of McGaheysville, Va; and nephew, Michael Hausler of Washington.
Riley's West Virginia family includes niece, Lindsey Sites; nephew, Jesse Sites; (Becca and Annaclaire), Georgie and Glen Hamric; Reggie and Tamara Sites; Trent and Cindy Sites; and Glenda Dearborn.
An Afternoon of Remembrance for family and friends was held at the home in Harrisonburg on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025.
A Celebration of Life for Riley will be held in Anchorage, Alaska, on Saturday, June 6, 2026, from 1:30-4:30 p.m., at O'Malley's on the Green.
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us."
