Sara C. "Sally" Snodgrass

1937 - 2022

Sara C. "Sally" Snodgrass, 84, a resident of Knollwood Military Life Plan Community in Washington, D.C., and a former longtime resident of both Charlotte, NC, and Crystal River, FL, passed away peacefully under hospice care in Washington, D.C., on March 28.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Seth R. and Mildred Cummings, in 1937, Mrs. Snodgrass spent the first part of her life in and around Cleveland, but left for the east coast in 1955 to attend Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. While majoring in French and minoring in Italian, and learning how to play bridge, she met a handsome young Air Force pilot named Rich Snodgrass on a blind date. They married in 1959 on the afternoon of the day she graduated from college, and started their life together living in Springfield, Mass.

During those early years together, they had the opportunity to take a few trips to Europe, where they discovered a shared love of France and fine food. In Paris, they attended some concerts they talked about their entire lives, including a few jazz evenings and one memorable night seeing Edith Piaf sing.

After brief Air Force training stints in Texas and Alabama, they were stationed in Orlando, Florida, in the mid-1960s. Their only child, Elizabeth, was born there. In 1968 they moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where Rich flew B-52s from SAC Headquarters and did a few tours overseas.

Rich retired from the Air Force in 1972 and the family moved to North Carolina-first Chapel Hill for two years, then to Charlotte, where Sally continued to live until 2013, even after Rich passed away in 2004. During their years in Charlotte, Sally was a library volunteer at Charlotte Country Day School, a member of the Carmel Country Club 9-Holers lady's golfing group, and props mistress for many of the plays in which Rich performed.

Sally and Rich traveled widely in Europe, particularly enjoying longer trips to France and Italy where Elizabeth had the chance to join them, and to Scotland. During their retirement, Sally and Rich also spent many happy summer weeks in Massachusetts and Maine, visiting with Rich's brother, Phil Snodgrass's family at the Kezar Ponds or in Boothbay Harbor where they hosted visits from family and friends.

From the mid-1980s, Sally and Rich spent half of every year in Crystal River, Florida, golfing, boating, watching birds and manatees, and eating lots of fresh seafood. (If you find yourself at Peck's in Ozello, Florida, please eat a batch of garlic crabs in Sally's honor.)

After Rich passed away in 2004, Sally volunteered more regularly in Crystal River, enjoying working at the library and with the library's regular book sale as well as weekly shifts next door at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife office. Finally, she sold her place in Charlotte and moved to Crystal River full-time to enjoy the weather, the water views, and the community.

In 2019, Sally moved north to Washington, DC, to live near family, settling into an independent living apartment near the Silver Spring home of her daughter, Elizabeth, and son-in-law, Kadri Atalay. They enjoyed weekly visits and overnights together and were very happy to be nearby during Covid. Sally was also happy to find a nice group of friends to eat dinners with at Knollwood.

Survivors include her daughter, Elizabeth Atalay, and son-in-law, Kadri Atalay, of Silver Spring, MD; step-grandchildren Kerem Atalay (Rebecca Dudley) and Yasemin Kemp (Vann Kemp); sister-in-law Marjorie Snodgrass, of Peabody, MA; nieces Martha Sue Snodgrass (Jeff Checkel), Jennifer Snodgrass (Peter Belknap), Amy Snodgrass (Joe Runkle), Emily Snodgrass (Anthony Laskaris), Sarah Hosford (Robb Chapman), Julia Barnes (Will Barnes), and Lisa Jensen (John Jensen); as well as her cousin, Robert Gottwald, and his wife, Joan Gottwald, of Arlington, VA.

Services and burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. Any donations in Sally's honor could be made to Doctors Without Borders, the Multiple Myeloma Foundation, or the Army Distaff Foundation.