Audrey N. Snapp

Audrey N. Snapp passed away on March 17, 2024 in Rock Hall, MD. She was 100 years old. She was born in Alva, Oklahoma on April 8, 1923, the daughter of the late Loda Jackson Nossaman and Omer Nossaman, and was primarily raised in Hayes, Kansas. After graduating from high school, she went on to receive her undergraduate degree from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ in 1947. She spent summers attending Julliard School of Music and Indiana University, where she received a Fullbright Scholarship to study abroad in Italy. She later would earn her master’s degree from the University of Hawaii. She taught at the Southern Baptist Seminary and the University of Louisville in Kentucky before accepting a teaching position at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she retired in 1985. While in Louisville, she was a lead soprano with the Kentucky Opera Association and performed at the National Gallery of Art and the Library of Congress. She recorded several pieces of work with the Louisville Orchestra and was made a Kentucky Colonel for her services to the state through music. She worked as a music director for several churches in Louisville and Maryland, and many of her students went on to have successful careers in both music and academia. She was also an adjudicator for the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in VA and KY. In the 1950s, she adopted her two children after her sister’s passing. She liked to joke that made her an unwed, working mother and then grandmother before she had even met and later married her husband in the early 1970s. She met her husband, the late James Snapp, whilst working at Chevy Chase Baptist Church, and together they enjoyed a life of travel, attending operas, dancing, water skiing, and precious time with friends and family. After she and Jim retired, they knew they wanted to move from Silver Spring to the Eastern Shore. She was particularly drawn to the Rock Hall area after mistakenly believing it to be named Gratitude. Nonetheless, she fell in love with Rock Hall and treasured the many friends she and Jim made there. She loved watching the sunset from her home, discovering new restaurants, attending events at Washington College, and volunteering with St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chestertown. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her son, Richard Nossaman; sister, Elva Nossaman; and grandson, David Federico. She is survived by her daughter, Dani Adams of Orlando, FL; grandchildren: Michele Federico of Albuquerque, NM and Justin Adams of Orlando, FL; great-grandchildren, Harrison Leonard (Jenaya) of Charleston, SC and Sam Leonard of Louisville, KY; and great-great-grandchildren, Briar Ella and Asher James. She was lucky to have spent her 100th birthday with five generations of family present. The family would like to thank all the caregivers who made it possible for her to stay in her home during her last year of life and the many people of Rock Hall who gave her so much joy and were so kind to her over the years. There are no services planned at this time. In lieu of flowers, please donate to a charity of your choice: St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital at www.stjude.org/donate, the Kent County Food Pantry at 401 High St. Chestertown, MD 21620, Habitat for Humanity at www.habitat.org, or to Compass Regional Hospice at 106 Coursevall Dr. Centreville, MD 21617.

Audrey N. Snapp

April 8, 1923 - March 17, 2024