SNOW, PHILLIP
“ROGER”
Portage

Phillip Roger Snow, a stern yet kind, compassionate and loving spirit whose impact was boundless, died Thursday, April 7, 2022, at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo. Roger, 72, was a longtime business owner and friend to many, lighting up every room he walked in and making each person he connected with feel special. Born on April 27, 1949, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to the late Elwood Snow and Louise (DeVries) Snow, Roger graduated from Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo and then cosmetology school. He later opened Roger’s Hair A Scope on South Westnedge Avenue, helping countless clients look great and feel good about themselves. Growing up the middle of three boys, Roger enjoyed exploring and trying new things. As a young boy, he joined his oldest brother, Ron, to check out a new street being put in near their home and decided to walk through the muddy construction site. With each step, his shoes collected about 10 pounds of mud. When one of the shoes came off in the mud, Roger and Ron scurried to find it, retrieve it and then race home to clean up all traces of mud before their parents got home. A few years later, Roger joined Ron on a bike ride to get a glimpse of a TV for the first time through the picture window of a neighbor’s house. Roger was loved and respected for his beautiful spirit, bold confidence and ability to show up fully in the world. His nieces and nephews admired his refined sense of style – considering him one of the classiest people they’d ever know – and appreciated his amazing taste in cars. They will always cherish their visits to Uncle Roger’s hair salon, where they were greeted by him with big hugs, lots of love and all the soda they could drink. They watched in awe as he made everyone who walked in his shop glow with just a few words and feel good to be just who they were. Niece Melanie looked up to her Uncle Roger as a young girl and wanted to be just like him, spending hours in the hair salon watching him in action. She later followed in his footsteps, becoming a hairdresser before graduating from high school. Niece Barb remembers dressing up to go to the Beacon Club for lunch with Uncle Roger and being reminded by him to save room for ice cream. Most importantly, his nieces and nephews will always remember the lessons Uncle Roger taught them simply by being himself: the importance of having the courage to live as you are supposed to – as yourself, whatever and whoever that is – and how to endure and overcome heart-wrenching challenges. Roger was preceded in death by his parents, longtime partner, Skye Hayward, and sister-in-law, Sandi Snow. He is survived by his brothers, Ron Snow of Portage and Steven Snow of Saginaw; nieces and nephews, Heather (Michael) Haas of Kalamazoo, Amy (Mike) Snow-Buckner of Grand Rapids, Kathleen (Ehren) Koelsch of Frederick, Colorado, Barb Snow of Berthoud, Colorado, Jason Snow of Henderson, Colorado, Melanie Snow of Saginaw and Justin Snow of Saginaw; great-nephews and nieces, Zachery Snow, Gabriella Snow, Gavin Haas, Grace Martone and Kenzi Haas; special friends, Randy and Kelly Pasch of Portage and many other friends. Cremation has taken place and, at Roger’s request, there will be no visitation or memorial service. Instead, friends and loved ones are asked to honor Roger’s memory by being kind, living with courage – even when mud puddles stand in the way – and always saving room for dessert.