Sterling Elliott Snow passed away peacefully at 10:30 am on Monday, February 27, 2023, surrounded by his children Jeff, Allison, and Lisa. What a rich and beautiful life he had! Those he left behind hold the most incredible gratitude for the steady and positive force he had in their lives. Sterling was our ever-ready battery with a tremendous zest for life, a sharp intellect, an avid curiosity, and an abundance of love and support.

Some of you knew him as Hank. To others, he was Sterling. And for friends and his beloved wife Barbara, just Snow. To his mother and his brother's family, he was Elliott. For all of us, he was one-of-a-kind.

Sterling lived during ten of the most consequential decades of two centuries which opened opportunities for him to contribute to society. Early in life, Sterling and his brother Gordon pushed the limits with model airplane experimentation. They were each others' best friends as their dad, a published entomologist, frequently moved the family around the country when he was required to find ways to control insect outbreaks. 

Sterling served three years in the United States Air Force achieving the rank of Captain. His service, for which he was quite humble, included secret missions into adversarial territory. Sterling earned recognition among his peers through his work on the Saturn V and Apollo rocket programs. Other contributions at Boeing included his work on defense systems that keep America safe. He worked on the SST and the 747 programs as well. 

He was a good provider and father. He taught his kids, nephews, and their friends how to do cool stuff. He hated working on cars, always had a project going at his cabin on Hood Canal, was an avid investor and student of the stock market and current events, loved spending time on his many boats, sharing the experience with friends and family, and excelled at barbequing salmon, shrimp, and steak (among many other things).

After retirement in 1995, he didn't settle for a rocker. He led an illustrious life of travel with friends and family, church involvement, perfecting his golf game, and expeditions with his cadre of fishing buddies. He fed his curiosity, read widely, invested avidly, kept abreast of the news, technology, and innovation, followed many musical genres, celebrated the successes of his grandchildren, and reveled in the adventures of his favorite novelists.

He was married to Gloria Grace Snow (deceased in 2017) for 29 years and is survived by three wonderful children and their spouses - Jeff (Vearlene), Allison (David), and Lisa (Ricky) - who gave him grandkids: Ryan, Rachel, Bryan, Sarah, and Elizabeth and great-grandchildren Mia, Memphis, and Graylan. His marriage to Barbara Ann Snow in 1987 added to his family: Michael (Shireen), Scott (Lisa), and Michelle (John) as well as more grandchildren: Zachary, Ramzi, Aliza, Brandon, and Abigail. He and Barbara orchestrated many occasions for family members to create memories with them. For 34 years, he was devoted to Barbara Ann who gave him much happiness.

Sterling fought his cancer with determination and the help of family, doctors, and a new technology called immunotherapy. This and his love of life gave him many more months of time living, learning, traveling, and spending time with his family. He took comfort and pride that his experience with and treatment for Merkel cell carcinoma added to the understanding and treatment of his particularly rare cancer.

We are grateful for the support provided to him in Palm Desert by Visiting Angels and Hospice while he took extraordinary care of his wife Barbara. Also, we express gratitude to his new community at Brookdale in Stanwood, Everett Providence Cancer Care, and Hospice of Mt. Vernon. They provided excellent care for him and his dog Murphy while he was still robust as well as in advanced illness.

While Sterling is now at rest, knowing him, he'd rather be golfing his best game, exploring and fishing from his boat, traveling, eating shrimp scampi, sharing in conversation, and celebrating happy hour with a glass of Chardonnay.

He and Barbara loved watching Downton Abbey. From the series, one of dad's favorite quotes of all came from the butler named Carson: "The business of life is the acquisition of memories. In the end that's all there is."

He will be missed by those of you who shared in his rich and wonderful life and the making of so many memories. These gave him great joy even to the end.

Please feel comfortable sharing a good story about how you knew Sterling (or Hank, or Elliott, or Snow...) Family will cherish these memories and add them to dad's.

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