David W. Snow

A good man, David W. Snow, 87, of Sisters, Ore., died at his home on Friday, July 21, 2023, surrounded by those closest to him.

Dave, a long-time resident of Sisters was the youngest son to Walter and Alice Snow of Stowe. Dave was born on April 8, 1936, in Moscow, and moved with his family to Pucker Street in Stowe in 1938 where he was raised with his four siblings on the family farm.

After graduating Stowe High School in 1954, Dave worked for his father on the farm and at Mt. Mansfield as a handyman. A desire to go into forestry and some encouragement from an adventurous friend led Dave to move to Oregon in 1957, where he began his career of government service.

Starting out as a laborer with the U.S. Forest Service in 1957, Dave found his passion and eventually moved into fire control. He took a hiatus to serve his country with the U.S. Army and worked as a lifeguard and jeep driver at Camp Wolters in Mineral Wells, Texas and later at Fort Lewis, Wash. Upon completion of his military service, he returned to Oregon and his career in forestry. Ultimately, he stayed with the U.S. Forest Service until his mandatory retirement in 1991.

Retirement did not slow Dave. He worked as a bus driver for the Sisters School District, drove snowplows for the Oregon Department of Transportation, and worked fire control and fire lookout for the Oregon State Forestry Department. Eventually, he decided it was time to give someone younger a chance and hung up his boots in 2015.

Dave was very big on volunteering his time to support young people. He volunteered with Sisters Little League as president, as the starter for ski races all over the Northwest and he served on the Sisters School Board. Dave always gravitated to work that took care of nature and young people.

While working for Bend Ranger District in the mid-1960s he met a nice young co-ed at Southern Oregon College and was immediately smitten. He and Sharelle “Shari” Roberts of Bend, Ore., were wed and settled in Sisters shortly after marriage. They adopted and raised two boys, Mike and Casey, who have gone on to raise his three grandchildren.

Dave and Shari eventually divorced after 27 years of marriage and in 2004 he married Anne Holcomb of Madras, Ore. They stayed married until she died in 2017.

Dave always had a ready smile and never believed in judging others. Nobody ever heard him raise his voice or utter a harsh word. He enjoyed spending time with his friends, whether that was regular gourmet dinners, rafting with the Sisters River Rats, annual elk hunting trips or just a chin wag over a beer. He enjoyed traveling and, as he often put it, “just seeing what there is to see.” His absolute favorite thing to do was watch his kids and later his grandkids play sports. It never mattered what the sport, weather or location, there was Dave bundled up to his ears or sweating and sunburnt.

Dave is survived by his son, Mike and his wife, Amy of Gresham, Ore.; son, Casey and his wife, Melanie of Sunshine Coast, Australia; grandsons, Hunter and Tucker; granddaughter, Tenley; sister, Kay and her partner, Paul Nesky of Hyde Park; sister-in-law, Rose of Stowe; nieces, Donna of Stowe, Wendy and her husband, Robert Parrish of Morrisville, Gail and her husband, Terry of Stowe, Jill of Morrisville and Lisa of Hyde Park; nephews, John of Montpelier and Gary of Craftsbury; and Ann’s children, Katherine, Robert and Michael.

He was predeceased by his sister, Joyce; and brothers, Walter, Jr. and Douglas.