Virginia Sneed could pass for 80. When you’ve just celebrated
your 105th birthday, that qualifies as a compliment.
Virginia Sneed could pass for 80. When you’ve just celebrated your 105th birthday, that qualifies as a compliment.
Sneed has led a life filled with excitement and adventure as she traveled from one end of the world to the other.
She started her life on a farm in the small community of San Benito, but her family moved to Hollister when she was ready to start school. Her father, Joe Brown, purchased an apricot orchard on 25 acres along Chappell Road.
The house didn’t even have electricity when the family moved there.
She said that her father had the first car in San Benito County and that she fondly recalled her mother driving around town in a horse and buggy.
Sneed graduated from San Benito High School and San Benito Junior College before leaving the community to attend college at the University of California, Berkeley.
She was one of the first female students to attend the university, but she says she remembers no ill feelings or discrimination from the other students.
During her time at Berkeley, Sneed studied education with the intention of becoming a teacher, but later discovered that she did not enjoy life in the classroom.
She met her husband, Chris Sneed, while she was a secretary for the company that was building the Bay Bridge. He worked as an electrical engineer on the project.
Later the couple lived in San Francisco and then Oakland.
During the couple’s life together they enjoyed a variety of leisure activities, including vacationing in Capitola and traveling around the world.
Sneed said that she’d visited several countries including Japan, Fiji, a large portion of Europe, Canada and Mexico.
She moved back to Hollister five years ago so she could be closer to her nieces, Virginia Bradt and Carol O’Brien.
Sneed has always been interested in educating herself and took classes in a variety of subjects, including Spanish, tai chi, and exercise.
“Unfortunately, most of those things went in one ear and out the other,” joked Sneed, who retains a sharp wit.
These days she enjoys fashion – which she’s always had a passion for – and visiting with old friends and new. One of her closest friends these days is her caregiver, Adriana Helt.
“She’s been very special to all of us. She’s a very special lady and a great example of how to live a long life,” said O’Brien, who continues to visit her frequently.
