George C. Snow, age 94, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in Pilot Mountain, on August 3, 2010. George Snow was born on February 22, 1916, in the Siloam Community, to the late A.C. and Grace Hardy Snow. Raised in a family of five children, George always took the role of selflessness and generosity, putting the needs of others before his own. He graduated from high school at the height of the depression, and felt the responsibility to forgo college to work so that his younger siblings could afford higher education. But it was through his sacrifices that he was led to his great love, his wife of 61 years. It was on one of his regular Monday trips to take his sister Frances to work in East Bend that he spied Helen Tomlinson. Though she was ten years his junior, he knew he had to meet her. It took George five years of love and patience before Helen realized what he had known since he first laid eyes on her: that they were meant to spend their lives together. He spent the next few years devoting himself to his wife and to the community, where he taught agriculture classes to veterans returning from World War II. Mr. Snow also served as a Sales Supervisor for Federal Crop Insurance for over two decades. He was blessed with bountiful farmlands and the birth of his son and daughter. The generosity and compassion that made him a great brother made him an even greater father and husband. George Snow was a rock, a force of unconditional love and support that could not be broken. For his children, there was no safer place in this world than on the lap of their father. As a grandfather, his lap was once again put to use, always the preferred seat when visiting the Snow house. He delighted in his grandfatherly duties, even buying a truck with child size backseats so they could go on adventures, exploring the rolling hills and farmlands. At night his grandchildren would crawl into bed to hear his rendition of The Three Little Pigs, his soft and steady voice lulling them to sleep. No visit with Papa George ended without his heartfelt phrase, "I love you so much I can't hardly stand it." His words reflecting the unwavering generosity, devotion and selflessness that defined his time here on Earth. Though George Snow is no longer with us, his memory will live on in the family he so dearly loved. Mr. Snow is survived by his loving wife, Helen Tomlinson Snow; one daughter and son-in-law, Sarah and Paul Cranfill of Raleigh; one son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Lin Snow of Pilot Mountain; three grandchildren, Drew and Allison Cranfill of Raleigh, and Anna Katherine Snow of Pilot Mountain. Mr. Snow was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters, Eva Snow Badgett and Frances J. Snow and two brothers, James C. Snow and Robert H. Snow. A celebration of life service will be held on August 6, 2010 at First United Methodist Church at 11 am. with Rev. Jim Yow and Chaplain Todd Byrd officiating. The family will receive friends on August 5, 2010 from 6 to 8 pm at the Cox-Needham Funeral Home and at other times at the Snow residence. Memorials may be made to Mountain Valley Hospice and Palliative Care, 401 Technology Lane Suite 200, Mount Airy, NC 27030 or to the First United Methodist Church, PO Box 696, Pilot Mountain, NC 27041
Cox-Needham Funeral Home of Pilot Mountain (www.coxneedham.com) is assisting the Snow family.