Shirley A Snow

Shirley Auer Snow (neé Shirley Caroline Auer) of Tucson, Arizona, age 94, passed away peacefully on May 20th. She was predeceased by her parents Ruth Lemmle Auer (1905‒1985) and John Wilton Auer (1903‒1960) and her former husband (Donald Dudgeon Snow, 1927‒2015).

She is survived by her sons, Blaine Snow (Barbara Gross) of Olympia, Washington, and Neil Snow (Suzanne Snow) of Helena, Montana, in addition to four granddaughters Emilia Snow (Riley Freeman), Saara Snow, Rebecca Snow, and Jessica Snow, and two great-grandsons Jorah Freeman and Harlan Snow.

Shirley was born in Albany on 18 October 1930 and had a happy childhood in Hamilton, New York. She was an only child in a family that appreciated music. Her mother Ruth was a homemaker who taught school, played musical events, and worked in libraries. Her father John worked for the Village of Hamilton at the time of his unexpected passing.

Shirley graduated from high school in Hamilton and later from Hobart and William Smith College in Geneva, NY, where she majored in sociology. She often recounted how much she enjoyed her college years. She later earned an MA in educational psychology from the University of Washington in Seattle. She was a lifelong reader and took many adult classes at the University of Arizona.

After college Shirley was a secretary at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. There she met her future husband Donald, a music education major to whom she was married for 24 years. After their marriage they settled in Seattle, Washington, where they raised their sons and enjoyed many family vacations. Shirley taught at the lower elementary levels for the Seattle School District for 25 years before retiring to Tucson in 1997. Prior to the public schools she taught Sunday School at Fauntleroy Community Church in West Seattle.

Shirley’s move to Tucson was influenced by the many annual Spring Breaks she had taken there. Her aunt, Dr. Malvina Lemmle, had worked as a psychiatrist in Tucson for many years, although had passed many years previously. The two-bedroom townhouse Shirley chose for her life in Tucson suited her perfectly. She worked lovingly in her yard, keeping it tidy and her cacti and other plants well maintained.

Important lifelong passions included classical music, film, theater, visual arts, and literature. She also adored flowers and poetry. Her favorite composers were Bach, Brahms, Schubert, and Shostakovich. Always curious, she was an avid reader and book collector. She volunteered for various organizations including the Fox Theatre, the former Wingspan, the UN Center Store, and coordinated the monthly Brandeis film series in Tucson for ten years. She held season tickets to the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and Arizona Friends of Chamber Music and attended many concerts at the University of Arizona.

Shirley took over two dozen trips abroad, mostly to Europe where she could marvel at the art museums, architecture, and historic sites. In addition to most countries in Europe, she made trips to Australia, South Africa, Vietnam, Morocco, Turkey, and did a solo trip in the USSR in 1982. She loved her travels, and while Turkey was perhaps the country that most surprised her, she returned most frequently to Paris and Berlin.

Shirley had a remarkable talent finding the perfect birthday or other holiday gift for friends and family, including the perfect card to match a person’s interests or passions. A true humanitarian, she cared deeply for others, particularly underprivileged groups.

Her easy-going and accepting personality and with great listening skills endeared her to many. Prominent among them were her dear friends in Tucson Bryan Scott and Michelle Creston, with whom she enjoyed coffee, conversation and artistic events for many years.

Shirley relocated to the Via Elegante assisted living facility in 2022, where she received excellent care and was well-liked by the staff. While her passing leaves us with sadness, we remember her with a warm heart and the many joys she brought into the lives of others.