Obituary of Doris M. Snow

Doris M. (Culley Senior Meyers) Snow a resident of Schooner Cove in Damariscotta, Maine slipped away from us peacefully on Friday April 11th, 2014 at 2:40 p.m. after a six month illness. Her family was with her and she was in her own bed at the end. She will be missed by all of us who knew and loved her. She was born August 4, 1923, in West Frankfourt, Il. and grew up in Brockway and DuBois, Pa. Over the years, she resided in State College, Pa.; Normal, Il.; Heidelberg, Germany; Boston, Ma.; and New Harbor and Damarisotta, Me. She graduated from The College of Wooster in Wooster, Oh. with her B.A. in 1945 and received her M.A. in 1954 from Penn State University in State College, Pa. She worked on her doctorate part-time at the University of Chicago from 1961 to 1963. A born teacher and scholar she started her career working for the Red Cross in DuBois. She began teaching at the Penn State campuses of DuBois and State College. From 1954 until 1976, she taught English, philosophy and the Humanities at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Il. From 1978 until 1981, she taught the Humanities at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She won Teacher of the Year awards twice while teaching at Illinois Wesleyan. She is survived by her son, J. Christopher Senior of Enfield, Ct.; her sister Mary Ellen Lifter of Shalotte, N.C.; her brothers David Culley of Gainesville, Fl., Dr. Gregory Culley and his wife Donna of Martha's Vineyard, and J. Kent Culley and his wife Merle of Bradford Woods, Pa. Also, her five beloved grandchildren: Dean Otto II of Melbourne, Fl.; Erin Senior and her partner Lorenza Thigpen of Baltimore, Md.; Stephanie Hutchings and her husband David of Enfield, Ct.; Kristen Senior of Philadelphia, Pa.; and Catherine Ward and her husband John of Wallingford, Ct. She leaves behind 13 amazing great-grandchildren whom she dearly loved! They are: Dean III, Samantha, and Kyle Otto; Izzabella, Alexander, and Elizabeth Thigpen; and Matthew, Alanah, Delaney, Colton, Braxton, and Brinlee Hutchings. She also leaves behind numerous nieces and nephews; her lifelong best friend, Fredrica Kundig; the dear members of her Writing Group: Ellie Carver, Nancy Holmes, Mimi Moore, Liga Jahnke, Maggie Macy-Peterson, Sarah Wolcott, Karen Woodard, and Kay Liss; and her very special friends who, over the last twelve years, kept her going with advice, rides, “linners” out, decorating her porch, and companionship—Valerie Bryant and Marcia Hall. She was predeceased by her husbands Lt. George A. Senior (Korea), Joseph H. Meyers, and Robert Snow and her first fiance, Pvt. Frances Creedon (WW II); her daughter H. Kathleen Otto and son Mark Robert Meyers; her mother and father Hallie and Harry Culley; and her two beloved cats Callie and Lady. Her lifelong passion was reading voraciously, even after her eyesight began to dim from age, often rereading her favorite books, especially Jane Austen, over and over again. She also loved to travel, especially by ship, touring or living in most of Europe or traveling by train across the United States. Her special loves were Greece, the Greek Islands, and Monhegan Island or anywhere near or on the sea. In 1988, she and her beloved Robert took an around the world cruise starting in San Francisco and ending in London. She was never happier than when she could sit in her deckchair on a deck with one of her books in her hand and the sea around her. Another of her lifelong passions was cooking and entertaining. She collected cookbooks and recipes and loved to make the most wonderful dishes to please family and friends. During the twenty years she lived in Normal, an invitation to her New Year's Day Open House, which lasted all day, was a treasured item. Then in her last years at Schooner Cove, she loved to have her friends up for cocktails and homemade hors d'ouerves before dinner. One of her last projects, which took her nearly ten years to accomplish, was her book, entitled Hallie and Harry-A Family Memoir, about the early lives of her remarkable parents up to the end of World War II. She completed and published it in 2006 with the help and advice of the Writing Group. She could not have lived these last few difficult years without the amazing service, love, and assistance of her beloved nurse/caretakers Sara Frasier, Julie Clark, Jennifer Libbey, and Michelle Darien. The family wants to express their grateful appreciation to the IRIS network, who over the last year, worked devotedly with her to keep her reading and enjoying her books, magazines, and the weekly New York Times Book Review section and listening to her Talking Books. A special thanks to Lisa Rosene, her counselor there. The family wishes to thank Millie and Hollie from the Miles & St. Andrews Home and Healthcare Hospice who made her last days easier with their special care. Arrangements are under the care of Direct Cremation of Maine Belfast, Me. Her life will be celebrated at a Memorial Service on May 24th at Schooner Cove Damariscotta with a reception following at Schooner Cove. A private burial service for the immediate family will take place off Monhegan Island. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made in her name to one of the following: Andrews Library Memorial Fund at The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH 44691; Buck Memorial Library Book Fund at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, IL 61701; to the Altar Guild at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Newcastle, ME. 04543; or to the IRIS network at 189 Park Ave., Portland, ME 04102. She was an amazing mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, teacher, chef, storyteller and friend . Her special grace, ability to impart her wisdom to others, her love for life and her family, her special love for all those who were discriminated against or made to feel less than they were, her fierce liberalism based on her love for FDR and President Obama will be cherished and remembered in our hearts and remembered and memorialized in the generations to come.