James LaVerne Snow (1924 - 2017)

Born 15 Jan 1924 in Gayville, Yankton, South Dakota, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Donna Mercedes (Johnson) Snow — married 1 Jan 1948 in Clay, South Dakota, United States

Husband of Beth Loraine (Long) Snow — married 12 Aug 1995 in Yankton, South Dakota, USA

Died 21 Jan 2017 at age 93 in Pierre, Hughes, South Dakota, United States

Biography

James "Jim" Snow was born in 1924 in Gayville, Yankton, South Dakota, United States. He was the son of Bennie Snow and Delia Benson. He passed away on 21 January 2007 in Pierre, Hughes, South Dakota, United States.

Obituary

Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan, January 24, 2017: ^[1]

James (Jim) L. Snow, 93, a contractor who built scores of homes and buildings in the Pierre area, including the Kneip Office Building and the Rawlins Municipal Library, died Saturday, January 21, 2017 in Pierre.

Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. at Lutheran Memorial Church in Pierre, followed by interment at Riverside Cemetery Friday, January 27.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, January 26 at Feigum Funeral Home.

Jim was born January 15, 1924, in Gayville, S.D. and was the middle child of Bennie and Delia (Benson) Snow. He grew up on the original family homestead, where he read his first book and many Zane Grey novels by the light of a kerosene lamp. He was a member of the local drum and bugle corps, an active 4-H member and a basketball player at Gayville High School, where he graduated in 1942.

He entered the Army in 1944, served as an Army supply sergeant in the Philippine, and was discharged in 1946. He married Donna Johnson, also from Gayville area, in 1948. They headed west intending to settle in Washington State. Instead, Jim got work on the Angostura Dam in Hot Springs, S.D., where their first child, Lois, was born, and their first son, Larry, lived for less than a day.

In 1950, Jim and family moved to Pierre, where he hoped to work on the Oahe Dam. Because no job was available, he approached a local banker about a loan in order to build a “spec” house. He was given the loan on a handshake and immediately bought a book about how to build a house for less than $3,500. The spec house was a success and his career as a builder began.

The family grew to include Gary, Misti, Kevin and Mark. In addition, twin boys, Dean and David, were stillborn in 1955. In 1976, Mark, 18, died of injuries sustained in a car crash.

Jim was a member of Lutheran Memorial Church, a board member of the Pierre Community Concert series, a volunteer fireman with Engine Company #1 and a member of the Pierre VFW. He was an avid hunter who enjoyed boating, fishing and sailing on Lake Oahe. He took flying lessons until a plane crash with his friend, pilot Paul Inman, in 1970 ended his flying career. He was a voracious reader of both fiction and nonfiction and enjoyed all kinds of music.

After Donna’s diagnosis of cancer in 1968, the couple began to travel extensively throughout the U.S., the Caribbean, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

In 1993, Donna, 65, died of a recurrence of cancer.

A friend introduced Jim to Beth (Long) Medeck of Yankton, whom he married in 1995. They moved to a home they built together overlooking the James River in Mission Hill, S.D. Jim became a member of the Vangen Lutheran Church, served Meals on Wheels and traveled with Beth until her death in 2003.

Jim remained in Mission Hill until 2015, when he returned to Pierre.

Jim is survived by his brother, Kenneth Snow, of Gayville; his children, Lois Walpole (Ron) of Sioux Falls, Gary Snow (Cindy, Emmanuelle) of Pierre, Kevin Snow (Jenny) of Pierre and Misti Snow (Jim Dawson) of Falls Church, Virginia; 13 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and sister-in-law, Dorothy Johnson, of Yankton. In addition, he is survived by Beth’s children, David Medeck, Donn (Regina) Medeck, Robert (Shelly) Medeck, Jonathan (Sabrina) Medeck, and Lisa Mershaw and their children and grandchildren.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Marjorie Williams Nelson.

A memorial has been established in Jim’s name. Condolences may be conveyed to the family at www.feigumfh.com.

Sources

1. ↑ Obituary for James ‘Jim’ Snow - Jan 21, 2017

• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XQVL-6JF : accessed 2 October 2018), James Snow in household of Bernie Snow, Gayville, Yankton, South Dakota, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 2, sheet 5B, line 90, family 111, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2232; FHL microfilm 2,341,966.

• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V1SQ-1Y3 : 15 March 2018), James Snow in household of Bennie Snow, Gayville Township, Yankton, South Dakota, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 68-2, sheet 5A, line 26, family 74, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3870.

• "United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMFR-NBP : 5 December 2014), James L Snow, enlisted 19 Jan 1945, Ft Snelling, Minnesota, United States; citing "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946," database, The National Archives: Access to Archival Databases (AAD) (http://aad.archives.gov : National Archives and Records Administration, 2002); NARA NAID 1263923, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

• "South Dakota, Department of Health, Index to Births 1843-1914 and Marriages 1950-2016," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKD6-SBTB : 11 February 2018), James Snow and Beth Medeck, 12 Aug 1995; citing Marriage, Yankton, South Dakota, United States, South Dakota Department of Health, Pierre.

• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q21M-HWQZ : 10 March 2017), James L. Snow, 2017; Burial, Pierre, Hughes, South Dakota, United States of America, Riverside Cemetery; citing record Find A Grave: Memorial #176349073.