Reports have confirmed that former USVI Governor Roy Lester Schneider died at age 83 on Sunday December 18th, 2022 from health complications. Schneider was the 5th Elected Governor of the USVI and a respected Physician to whom the Schneider Regional Medical Center in St. Thomas is named in his honor.
Dr. Schneider, who will receive a state funeral, served from Jan. 2, 1995 to Jan. 4, 1999 after being elected for one term. He served with then-Lieutenant Governor Kenneth Mapp.
Dr. Schneider was born on May 13, 1939 on St. Thomas. He attended Howard University and earned his medical bachelor’s degree in 1965. He also enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War between 1966 and 1968, where he served as a medical advisor and surgeon between 1967 and 1968. Dr. Schneider was awarded a Bronze Star by the United States for his service. He was also awarded the Vietnamese Honor Medal First Class and Technical Service Honor Medal by the Republic of Vietnam during his service in the U.S. Army.
Following his time in the military, Dr. Schneider, who is also the namesake of the main hospital in St. Thomas, returned home to Charlotte Amalie where he practiced medicine. He was health commissioner at the V.I. Dept. of Health between 1977 and 1987, and moved on to be elected governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands.