Kenneth ‘Kenny’ Snedeker was born on November 25, 1936 in Marshall, Illinois. His mother Freda Lucille Snedeker died when he was eleven years old, after which he lived with his uncle and aunt Johnie and March Snedeker. Kenneth’s uncle was a contractor hired to build the Colony and Jim Jones’ house, and he became familiar with Lowney Handy and James Jones while visiting his uncle after school.

Kenneth Snedeker joined the Handy Writer’s Colony after graduating from high school, when his uncle and aunt made it clear they were done providing housing for him. When the Colony closed in October, Lowney Handy sent Snedeker to Florida to stay with her friend Helen Chezney. Snedeker stayed with Chezney for a few months before finding a room in a flophouse; he returned to Marshall months later flat broke, and joined the army on his uncle’s advice.

Snedeker married his high school girlfriend, Dee Ann Murphy, while in the army; after being discharged, he joined her family’s business at the Quality Lime stone quarry and farm outside Marshall. Dee Ann and Snedeker had three children together before divorcing in 1962. Snedecker remarried in 1964 to Margaret Sue Amacher. He continued working at Quality Lime until his retirement in 1999. Kenneth Snedeker passed away on April 20, 2017.