Joseph Hughes Snow Jr.

Joseph H. Snow, Jr., one of the greatest from the Greatest Generation, finished the race in this life and was welcomed into his Heavenly home. The son of the late Joseph H. Snow, Sr. and Ada C. Snow was 93 years young, having been born on September 10, 1920, and departing from this life on April 19, 2014. A fourth generation Texan, he was living in Angleton, Texas at the time of his departure, his residence being only a few blocks from the place he was born. Except for his tour of duty in WWII and a 10 year assignment with Dow Chemical at its headquarters in Midland MI, he lived in Texas all of his life. He is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Ellen "Pinky" Snow, his three children, Joellen Snow (and husband Stan O'Neal), Joseph H. Snow, III (and wife Jamie), and Edie Snow Myer (and husband Austin), 12 grandchildren (his granddaughter, Ellen Ada Snow predeceased him in 2001), and 5 great grandchildren. He was the last surviving grandchild of Edward Burleson Cannan, who took residence in Angleton in the late 1800's, and who had five children, including Ada C. Snow. Joe's father, Sheriff of Brazoria County, was killed in the line of duty 5 days after Joe's birth while pursuing a horse thief. who, unknown to Sheriff Snow, had also murdered another man. Despite this very difficult beginning to his life, he was raised by his mother (who never remarried) with the help of his grandfather, who taught him important life skills such as how to ride a horse, hitch a buggy and drive cattle. He graduated from Angleton High School in 1937, and from Texas A&M in 1941, with a BS in Electrical Engineering. Following his graduation from Texas A&M, he was immediately commissioned into the U.S. Army Signal Corps as a 2nd Lt., and ordered to Ft. Monmouth, NJ for training in what was then a new and unrefined technology - a system for early detection of aircraft bearing the secret term "radar." Following additional training in Florida, he was stationed in Hawaii in late 1942, first on Oahu and then on Molokai, where his Platoon was stationed on the west side of the island to detect any further attacks by the Japanese. In 1944, he was promoted to Captain and placed in charge of a Company that was sent to Saipan to set up radar defense as Allied troops continued to push the Japanese back. He was stationed there when the bombers that dropped the atomic bombs on Japan left from nearby Tinian Island, and when the Japanese surrendered. After 39 months overseas, Joe returned from the war in 1945, and went to work for Dow Chemical as an electrical engineer in Freeport, TX. He met the woman of his dreams, Pinky, in June of 1949, and married her in September of 1950. They created a lifetime of wonderful memories together, travelling the world together and raising their kids, who they took to 46 of the 50 states. Joe finished his career with Dow in 1980, back at its Texas Operations where he began. But retiring to a life of leisure was never his intention. He developed and then managed The Snow Building, an office building constructed on his mother's former home-site. He had previously moved her home to property near Surfside which has been in the family for over 180 years, given to Joe's great grandfather, William Jarvis Cannan (who fought in the Battle of San Jacinto), as a land grant from the Republic of Texas, He later remodeled her home to serve as a gathering place for family and friends. He also formed a consulting firm, and provided consulting services to Dow and to Anixter International, utilizing his vast experience and expertise in electrical power transmission. He finally retired in 2010 at the age of 90. As a part of his professional endeavors, he was a life member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, to which he contributed countless hours of volunteer work, serving and leading many committees and authoring numerous technical articles. During his career, he received many awards and recognitions from Dow and from the IEEE, including the "Dr. George H. Bahder Memorial Award", which provided scholarship funds to the Electrical Engineering Department at Texas A&M University. He also served his community as a member of the Angleton City Council in the late 40's, a Drainage Commissioner in the early 60's, a member of the Planning and Zoning Committee of Angleton in the 70's, as Mayor of Angleton from 1980 - 1982 and as a member of the Brazoria County Transportation Committee in the late 80's and 90's. He received the Pioneer of the Year Award from the Angleton Chamber of Commerce "for his many contributions to the development, growth, and progress of his hometown and his devotion to the pioneer principles of country, duty, honor, faith, and family." He was a lifetime member of Angleton First United Methodist Church, serving on numerous committees and supporting it faithfully with his time and his tithes. A celebration of Joe's life will be held at Angleton First United Methodist Church at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22, 2014, with burial to follow at Angleton Cemetery. All are invited to a reception with the family that will be held in the Family Life Center at the church at 4:30 p.m. Joe expressed his desire that donations be made to the building fund of Angleton First United Methodist Church in lieu of flowers, as he enjoyed spending so much of his free time helping to oversee the planning, building, renovating, managing and maintaining of its buildings. The family wishes to express its sincerest thanks and appreciation to the outstanding ICU staff at Angleton-Danbury Medical Center who did an exemplary job of making Joe's last days on this earth as comfortable and pain-free as humanly possible. Provide comfort for the family by planting a tree in memory of Joseph Hughes Snow Jr., please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store. Service Information Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014 3:00pm, Angleton First United Methodist Church 219 North Arcola St Angleton, TX 77515 Interment Location Angleton Cemetery 328 Cemetery Rd. Angleton, TX 77515