Rochelle Elizabeth Snee
Seattle, Washington – Rochelle Elizabeth Snee, born December 6, 1947, in Trenton, N.J., passed away at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, Wash. on Sunday, September 6, 2020.
Rochelle was a 1965 graduate of Dulaney High School in Lutherville – Timonium, Md. She earned her B.A. degree at the University of Maryland at College Park, majoring in classics under Wilhelmina Jashemski. She attended the University of Washington, where she earned both an M.A. and a PhD in classics with a concentration in the Byzantine Period.
As a classics scholar, Rochelle had many opportunities for both study and travel: at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, to work with fellow classicists Dorothy Koonce and Peter Westervelt; in Rome to translate ancient Greek documents in the Vatican Library; in Jerusalem to read ancient manuscripts available only to those with special permission; in Istanbul to do research for an article on Gregory Nazianzen's Anastasia Church, in Washington, D.C., to continue her study of Byzantium at both Dumbarton Oaks and Catholic University. She was on the faculty of Pacific Lutheran University, where she taught classics courses, served as chair of the Language Department for several years and accompanied Egyptologist Donald Ryan on several trips to Egypt to provide students with an understanding of Roman sites existing there.
Through the years, she published articles on Valens' recall of the Nicene exiles and Gregory Nazianzen's Anastasia Church in Constantinople. She was preparing to publish a book on the life of Oikonomos Marcian at the time of her death.
Rochelle was a wonderful cook who loved to whip up gourmet meals for guests. She was known for her mincemeat pies, which always graced her Thanksgiving table. In addition to travel and cooking, she enjoyed reading, theater, opera, and ancient art.
Rochelle survived by her husband, Joseph Knee, of Seattle; her father, John J. Snee, of Salisbury, Md.; her sister, Christine L. Snee, of Towson, Md.; her brother, Joseph M. Snee, of Salisbury; her sister-in-law, Ruth Snee, of Hatboro, Pa.; her nephew, John G. Snee, and his wife, Tara, of Albuquerque, N.M.; her niece, Arden Snee, and her husband, Bill Hornung, of Fayetteville, N.C.; her great-niece, Ella Rose Snee, of Albuquerque; her godson, Steven Kodama, and his brothers, Sandro and Paul Kodama, and their families of Seattle.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Marian E. Snee, and by two brothers, Thomas E. Snee and David W. Snee.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, a funeral could not be held. Burial was private in Staten Island, N.Y., next to her paternal grandparents. A memorial service will be held there at a later date.
Arrangements are in the care of Holloway Funeral Home in Salisbury, Md. and Bedell Funeral Home in Tottenville, Staton Island, N.Y.