The eldest child of four, Robert “Bob” was born in Plato, Minnesota. Bob was an entrepreneur, entertainer, naval aviator, balloonist, trumpeter, and adventurer. Bob passed away on January 24, 2025, surrounded by his loving wife Linda, son Christopher, sister Mary and brother-in-law Hubie Goracke.
Bob grew up with an exceptional work ethic. He worked an early morning paper route with his younger brother Tom to pay for his private schooling. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in geology, Bob worked on fishing boats in Alaska before enlisting in the Navy. Bob entered flight school at Naval Air Station Pensacola when it fortuitously opened up his future.
After leaving the Navy, Bob opened Seville Quarter, a new entertainment complex. Seville Quarter featured Dixieland jazz in a saloon atmosphere. Bob used one of his skills, flying, to advertise Seville Quarter through skywriting and banner towing.
Equipped with his trumpet, Bob regaled customers with the sounds of Louis Armstrong. While entertaining so many at Seville, he met his wife of 49 years, Linda Bailey. After dating for eight years, Bob and Linda were married on September 28, 1975.
Together, they adventured around the world, including flying and ballooning across the globe. Linda’s exuberance in the good times and strength in the bad lifted Bob to great heights throughout his life.
With so much success in Pensacola and with Bob’s entrepreneurial mindset, Bob & Linda sought other opportunities. In 1974 Bob and Linda opened Rosie O’Grady’s Good Time Emporium in downtown Orlando. According to Ken Ibold of Florida Trend, Rosie
O’Grady’s (better known as Church Street Station) at one time hosted more annual visitors than anywhere else in Florida. To advertise his new business, Bob and hisballooning partner, and world-renowned aviator, Joe Kittinger, started a skywriting and banner towing business known as Rosie O’Grady’s Flying Circus. While in Orlando, Bob & Linda purchased and restored the home of their dreams and decorated it with the fine antiques Bob was so fond of.
Bob’s business accomplishments included Man of the Year from the American Marketing Association (1988), Businessman of the Year in Florida (1976), Ten Most Important People in Orlando’s History (1989), Top Three Small Businesses in the US (1976), Businessman of the Year – NW FL from the PNJ (1974), Central Florida Restaurateur of the Year (1985) and so many more. To learn more about Bob and his accomplishments, visit snowandassociates.us.
Bob’s loving family included son Christopher, daughter-in-law Bethany, and his two grandchildren Rebecca and Jacob. In his later years, Bob enjoyed spending recreational time with his family fishing, boating, and watching football.
Bob is preceded in death by his parents, James J. and Adeline B. Gehlen Snegoski. Bob is survived by his wife, Linda Bailey Snow; son and daughter-in-law, Christopher J.B. Snow and his wife, Bethany; grandchildren, Rebecca Louise Snow and Jacob Thomas Snow; his brothers, Tom Snegoski, John Snow (LeAnn), his doting sister Mary Goracke (Hubie); nephew John Goracke; sister-in-law Myrtle Bailey; and a host of relatives and friends.
Visitation will be from 12 p.m., with the funeral service at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, at Harper-Morris Memorial Chapel. Interment will follow at Bayview Memorial Park. Reception to follow at Seville Quarter.
Pallbearers will be Christopher Snow, John Snow, John Goracke, Dale Hipsh, Buck Mitchell, and Ron Busbee.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project by going to www.woundedwarriorproject.org