TA Team Warmly Recognizes 98-Year-Old Guest on Veterans Day

The team at TA Columbia, New Jersey, reached out to one of their regular guests, a World War II Navy veteran, when they knew he wouldn’t be able get to their Country Pride Restaurant on Veterans Day.

Willard “Whip” Snover and his wife, Shirley, would often come in for lunch or dinner. They enjoyed the meals and our friendly team. Sadly, Shirley passed away two years ago and choosing to drive less often, Whip hasn’t visited as much.

Hope Bianchi, Restaurant General Manager, says her team wanted to say, “Thank you for your service,” on Veterans Day and show Whip they miss him and are thinking of him. It was a TA group effort to honor this veteran. Servers Kristi Dickison and Bobbi Long made sure to order Whip’s favorite meal of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and corn. Paul Hempele, chef, perfectly prepared the meal and Sheri Hopkins, Customer Service Representative, delivered the meal.

Sheri is Whip’s stepdaughter and told us some of Whip’s backstory: He valiantly served his country on the USS Minneapolis, and just as valiantly decided he would be a lifelong bachelor. But that was before he spotted Shirley (Sheri’s mom) at the pool. Shirley had three children and was single at the time. Willard was 50-years-old, quite a bit older than Shirley, and he didn’t waste any time asking Shirley for a date to go swimming. They got married soon after, in the 1970s. Their shared sense of adventure took them to many destinations around the world – Israel, Ireland, England and several other European countries, 49 states in the U.S. and also to many reunions of the USS Minneapolis.