Robert Snow Obituary

Robert Dalton Snow, 70, a long-time resident of Colorado Springs, passed away October 6th at Penrose Hospital after a courageous 4 ½ year battle with an uncommon form of pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer.

Born March 12, 1945, he was the first-born son of Col. John R. Snow and Catherine (Radspinner) Snow. On August 20, 1977, he married his best friend and the love of his life, the former Carol Pekkala.

An honorably discharged veteran, he served his country in the United States Army from 1967 through 1969. He attended Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Ft. Belvoir, Virginia and graduated at the top of his class earning the rank of 2nd Lt. He served as Facilities Officer/Construction Planner for a Special Weapons maintenance group headquartered in Germany during the Cold War.

After his military service, Robert enrolled at the University of Maryland and graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree. He moved to Colorado Springs in 1975. During his architectural career, he was the Director of Planning and Architecture for Craddock Development Co. In 1986, Robert established his own independent practice for six years and later joined Christiansen, Reece & Partners as a Project Manager for 18 ½ years until his retirement in 2010.

Robert had many passions in his life, but first and foremost was his family. As a father, he never missed his son's sporting events or a chance to help him with homework. He was an avid reader and full of curiosity about the world around him. Robert applied his technical background by designing and building model warplanes and sailing ships from scratch, perfecting every detail. Robert had a love of sailing that began in his younger years and continued for the rest of his life. At age 28, he and three others set sail for a trans-Atlantic voyage on a 33 ft home-built Columbia yacht named "Sunbeam". On June 20, 1973, they departed from Annapolis, Maryland and began a 54-day voyage crossing the Atlantic Ocean. During the voyage, Robert kept a daily journal. One particular excerpt described a harrowing adventure:

"5 Aug 19:00 - More wind. Up to 40+ knots in 10 min. Boat heeled way over. All hands doused sail, tied boom to deck. Seas building up again. Wind driving us east at 2 knots. Anemometer blown off top of mast. Very wet topside. Thrown across cockpit by breaker. Soaked. Boat riding very well across waves. Waves 20 ft through to crest (NO EXAGGERATION) one after another. Pucker factor up, but danger mostly in imagination. All safety gear lashed on deck, ready to go. Barometer down to 29.10. Sky solid dark gray. Thought of a good line for a post card - having a swell time, wish you were here."

They concluded their journey by safely docking in Helvick, Ireland. Robert remarked that it was his greatest brush with adventure.

Robert was truly blessed to share his high intellect with a wonderful sense of humor, yet he always remained humble in his achievements.

Robert was a loving husband to his wife, Carol and a devoted father to their son, Thomas. He is also survived by his brother, Richard (MaryAnne) Snow, his nephews Robert (Brownrigg) Snow (their children Jack and Libby), Richard Snow and niece Katherine (Florian) Snow. Also left to cherish his memory is sister-in-law, Cindy Pekkala, brother-in-law, Craig Pekkala and mother-in-law, Maxine Pekkala. Robert will also be deeply missed by his long-time best and faithful friends, K.C. Keen and L.P. Halbeisen.

Cremation has taken place and a memorial service will be announced at a future date. Our family would like to extend their heart-felt gratitude to Dr. Robert Sayre and Dr. Charles Zinn (Oncologists) and the entire staff at Rocky Mountain Cancer Center, the 11th floor nurses at Penrose Main Hospital and Dr. Austin Garza and staff at Associates in Gastroenterology. Thank you for the exceptional care that all of you gave to Robert.