Norbert L. Snow

Norbert Leonard Snow

April 21, 1966 – May 10, 2026

Mr. Norb Snow, age 60, passed away Sunday at home in Appleton, New York.

A visitation will be held Thursday, May 21, from 3:00-6:00 p.m. at the Sherrie-Bream Funeral Home, 4521 Main St., Gasport, New York. A memorial jam session will be held in Illinois in the future.

Norb was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on April 21, 1966, as the first of four children and only son of Norbert and the late Nancy Snow.

He was a good kid who idolized Evel Knievel, loved animals, played football, and had brains for math and science early on at St. Joan of Arc School in Kokomo, Indiana, then St. Scholastica School in Woodridge, Illinois. He was inquisitive, inventive and artistic at a young age, with a natural talent for drawing, painting and playing guitar.

Music would fuel Norb’s life and connect him with others, from family to bandmates and his soulmate and wife of nearly 20 years.

Norb grew up on John Denver, Elvis and the Oak Ridge Boys on an eight-track on dozens of family roadtrips to Ohio. Then he lived, breathed and studied the likes of Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Scorpions, Lynyrd Skynyrd, UFO, Elton John, KISS, Frank Zappa and Jeff Beck.

Norb’s father drove him to guitar lessons in Hinsdale, Illinois. He mastered the riffs of his heroes Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen, Michael Schenker and others. He developed his own style and sound, preferring Custom brand amplifiers over the popular Marshalls and long hair and bell-bottom jeans over 1980s big hair and spandex. His bands practiced in the basement of the family home. At age 18, his band Silent Scream won the talent show at Downers Grove North High School in Downers Grove, Illinois, and he played his first professional gig at a Chicago rock club, the Rusty Nail, with a band he named Phydeaux (and later became Believer). Playing Chicago-area clubs, Norb gained the respect of his peers. Many long-lasting friendships formed at gigs plus band rehearsals at Fatal Beauty Studios in Lombard, Illinois.

From Illinois, Norb moved to Wisconsin and had two sons, Damian and Dominic Snow, in 1986 and 1988. He’d later become a grandfather, uncle and great uncle.

Working as a certified land surveyor, he’d share entertaining stories, including one involving him forgetting about his fondness for “pocket meat,” a handy snack tucked in a front pant pocket, and the bratwurst of the day drawing a close call with a bear.

On and off over the years, he played local gigs, once opening for Quiet Riot at a large Wisconsin festival. Fellow musicians would say Norb seemed to make everyone around him a better guitar player. And he could convey a range of emotions through his guitar playing, which reflected the person he was: intelligent, intense, thoughtful and creative.

In 1994, it was music again that connected Norb to someone, the love of his life, Julie.

They met when she was having a girls’ karaoke night out. She belted out a song by Heart and Norb’s roommate Dave said, “You’ve got a nice voice. I have a guitar-playing roommate. Would you like to stop by?” Against her better judgment, she said, she agreed to go, walked into their house and Dave yelled, “Guess who I found?” Norb yelled back “My girlfriend?” His spontaneous blind-date joke would become a blessed reality. The couple performed together in a rock band in Wisconsin for a few years and bonded over personal playlists spanning Bela Fleck’s “Throwdown at the Hoedown,” the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” and Mozart’s “Eine kleine Nachtmusic.”

Norb and Julie were married June 20, 2006. In 2010, they relocated to upstate New York and rebuilt a house entirely from the ground up with help from her nearby father. Norb had continuous and ambitious projects there, most recently repairing a retaining wall and planning to transform their acreage into a flower-filled park.

He never stopped wanting to imagine, to learn or to hone a new skill. His coworkers nicknamed him “Paint King” for his eye for mixing paint and “Bert the Builder” for assembling grills and furniture with ease.

Norb’s passion for music remained endless and enthusiasm infectious for discovering new bluegrass or jazz artists or revisiting rock favorites. He and Julie regularly attended concerts. Even their stay-at-home nights felt epic with just a dartboard, cold beers and a hockey game or good tunes.

The couple also took road trips when possible to visit family. Although Norb lived in another state than his parents and sisters since age 20, his phone conversations over the decades were so treasured and memorable.

Norb’s aunts in Ohio have said he always made you feel like he was happy to see you – and he, was indeed happy - and that he was interesting and fun to be around. He was loved for his kindness, attitude and smile … always the smile.

Norb is preceded in death by his mother, Nancy (Clift) Snow; aunts and uncles, Sandy Clift, Kenneth and Glenda Clift, Gary Clift and Ed Klenk; and four grandparents.

Norb is survived by his wife, Julie (Oudette) Snow; her daughter, Kayla McCabe; her parents, Rick Oudette and Darlene Rodie-Oudette; along with Julie’s sister, Jennifer (Ed) Hager and their daughter Olivia; as well as his sons, Damian and Dominic Snow and his grandchildren, Hadleigh, Sabrina, Nolan, Aria, Fiona and Isla Snow; his father, Norbert E. Snow; his sisters, Barb (Chris) Lincoln, Vickie (David) Jurkowski and Kathy (Jim) Tadrowski; his nieces and nephews, Madalyn (Brenton) Hemp, Lexi Tadrowski and Savannah, Chandler and Tanner Lincoln; great-nephew, Colter Hemp and great-niece, Rose Hemp; and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Norb’s honor to Friends of Maury County Animal Services at www.friendsofmcas.com/memorial-donations.