Andy Rodney Snowden

Andy Rodney Snowden, age 88, of Powell County, Kentucky, passed away peacefully on September 10, 2025. Rodney was born on October 1, 1936 on Forge Mill Road to Bryan and Fannie Tipton Snowden. He is survived by his loving wife, Mary Neal Snowden; his three children, Kimberly Siahkoohi (Karim), Shannon Snowden (Paula), and Heather Amy Robinson (John); his grandchildren, Andrew Snowden (Laura), Afsaneh Davis (Kevin), Damir Siahkoohi (Katie), Brianna Robinson, Olivia Snowden, Mary Robinson, and Juliana Robinson; and was blessed to know his four great-grandchildren, Caroline Snowden, Nazanin Davis, Azar Siahkoohi, and Rumi Siahkoohi. Rodney proudly served for eight years in the US Navy. Snowden spent the first three years of the second tour of duty attached to the Base Police Unit at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. For most of his tour there, he was in charge of the driving range, testing and issuing drivers' licenses to all base personnel and doing safety inspections on base vehicles. This routine was interrupted October 22, 1962 when President John F. Kennedy took offensive action against the buildup of Soviet missiles in Cuba. Gitmo was reinforced and prepared for a possible war with Cuba and the Soviet Union. Mary and Kimberly were among the more than 2400 dependents evacuated prior to the president's address, advising the nation of the impending threat. After finishing his service and starting a family, Rodney created and ran multiple businesses to support his friends and family. No stranger to hard work, he took advantage of any grants available for making potable water available to all rural Powell County. Rodney was most proud to have facilitated and overseen the operation of the Powell's Valley Water District to provide reliable water to rural homes that covered the entire region all the while digging water lines and reading meters until his retirement in 1995. Despite moving over 34 times in his life, Rodney's roots in the Spout Springs area went back for many generations. He loved working on projects on the Hudson Mill farm and at one point was recognized as the largest sheep farmer in Estill County, with the t-shirt to prove it. Rodney was known for his strong moral compass, a consistent record to Sunday School church services, shuttling grandkids on his Kabota tractor with a border collie sitting at his heels, and a love for dark chocolate (which is good for your heart). Visitation and funeral services will be held on Saturday, September 13, 2025 at Wells Funeral Home in Stanton, KY with burial services to follow at Salem Baptist Church. Serving as Pallbearers are: Mark Barnett, Morris Barnett, Zach Barnett, Andrew Snowden, Damir Siahkoohi, and Kevin Davis. Honorary Pallbearers are Willie Conner and the Adult Sunday School Class at Salem Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in his memory be made to the Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan's Purse organization, PO Box 3000 Boone, NC 28607 https://samaritanspurse.org/our-ministry/disaster-relief-landing-page/?utm_source=Ggl&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=m_YGND-B25V&utm_content=disaster-relief-lp&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=68852315&gbraid=0AAAAAD2XO8fKsUdAeF9u_NbgUxcFNy6r-&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5onGBhDeARIsAFK6QJYUR-7mVb6H7xHLvGWqa7w-CAlmfs52e7FaeOuYjPqPJe5VIZtBdCYaAj4TEALw_wcB or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude’s Place • Memphis, TN, 38105. https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude-today.html?product_code=ECGLMMENAMemorialRiveredge&frequency_selected=0&sc_icid=impactgiving-dedicate-bttn