Snowden W. Dougherty ’59

Snowden, also known as David or Dave, died Sept. 27, 2016, due to complications from pneumonia. We learned of his death only recently. Years ago, Snowden had requested no communication with the class.

Born April 19, 1933, in Philadelphia, Pa., Snowden originally matriculated with the Class of 1955. After a hiatus from Princeton, he re-enrolled with the Class of 1959, but left during our junior year. While at Princeton he was a member of Charter Club. Little else is known about his time at Princeton.

According to his obituary in The Washington Post, Snowden chose a simple life of humble devotion to God. He was known to many around the Washington, D.C., area, where he worked as a groundskeeper at the National Cathedral College of Preachers for many years, tidied pews at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Georgetown, and collected thousands of books.

He had a generosity of spirit, and it was his goal to create complete libraries for many of his friends — a feat he apparently accomplished with books to spare. He was an accomplished sailor, traveler, naturalist, storyteller, singer, reader, collector, and all-around polymath.

There are no known next of kin.