Person Page - 171

Virginia Sing^1,2

• Biography*: She was born Gaither Virginia Sing.³
• Birth*: Virginia Sing was born on 30 December 1923 at Hernando, Desoto County, Mississippi, USA.^2,3
• Name Variation: As of 30 December 1923, Virginia Sing was also known as Gaither Virginia Sing.³
• Married Name: As of circa 1941,her married name was Thomas.¹
• Milit-Beg*: She began military service on 17 February 1942 at Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA.⁴
• Marriage*: She married James P. Thomas, son of Raymond Patrick Thomas and Bernice Bertha Yucius, circa 1945; Marriage year based on birth year of first child. He took an eight day leave from service on April 16, 1945, could have been the period they were married in Memphis, Tennessee.^1,5
• Death*: Virginia Sing died on 14 February 2008 at Tinley Park, Cook County, Illinois, USA, at age 84.
  Virginia A. Thomas, age 84, late of Tinley Park, IL, beloved wife of James; loving mother Carol (James) Corr, Barbara (David) Marran and James (Janet) Thomas; proud grandmother of Kim (Ken) Wasetis, Jennifer (Bob) Gavigan, Jodi (Larry) Schultz, Jeff (Meredith) Marran, Tom (Kim)
  Marran, Katie (Gary) Throw, Lauren and Heather Thomas; great-grandmother of Zac Schultz, Nick Schultz, Chen Marran and Chieh Marran; caring sister of Betty House and Clarence Sing; fond aunt of many nieces and nephews. Funeral Monday, Feb. 18, 2008, 9:15 a.m. from the Vandenberg Funeral Home, 17248 S. Harlem Ave., Tinley Park, IL 60477, to St. Damian Church, Mass 10 a.m. Interment in St. Mary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials to St. Jude Children's Hospital, 5796 Shelby Oaks Dr. #6, Memphis, TN. Visitation Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008, from 3 to 9 p.m. 708-532-1635 or www.vandenbergfuneralhome.com Published in Chicago Tribune on Feb. 15, 2008.^6,2
• Burial*: She was buried on 18 February 2008 at St. Mary Cemetery, Evergreen Park, Cook County, Illinois, USA; Lot 1406, Section AM.^2,7

Mary Smith¹

• Birth*: Mary Smith was born circa 1856 at County Cavan, Ireland.²
• Birth: She was born circa 1860 at County Cavan.³
• Marriage*: She married Michael Sorahan, son of Andrew Sorohan, circa 1881. Estimated to be a year before birth of first child.
  Unable to locate Marriage record on IrishGenealogy.ie using all the last name spellings: Sorahan, Sorohan, Soraghan, Soroghan, Sullivan.¹
• Married Name: Her married name was Sorahan.^1,4
• Name Variation: As of 1901, Mary Smith was also known as Soroghan.²
• Census 1901*: She and Michael Sorahan appeared on the 1901 census of 31 March 1901 at Denbane, Denn Parish, County Cavan, Ireland.²
• Biography*: Mary reports she has given birth to 11 children, 7 of which are still living.⁵
• Census 1911*: Mary Smith appeared on the 1911 census of 2 April 1911 at Denbawn, Denn, County Cavan, Ireland.⁵
• Name Variation: As of 27 July 1942, Mary Smith was also known as Sorohan.³
• Death*: She died on 27 July 1942 at Denbawn, Cavan, County Cavan, Ireland.³

Olen Albert Smith¹

• Birth*: Olen Albert Smith was born on 9 June 1918 at Jonesville, Lee County, Virginia, USA.^1,2,3
• Nickname: Olen Albert Smith also went by the name of Toad.⁴
• Occupation*: He was U. S. Navy in October 1940.^1,3
• Marriage*: He married Selma Batke, daughter of Henry Batke and Katherine Reck, on 23 October 1940 at St. Joseph, Berrien County, Michigan, USA; Married by Louis Nuechterbleu (sp?). Witnesses: Henry Elli and Mrs. Henry Elli both of South Bend, Indiana.¹
• Residence*: Olen Albert Smith lived on 25 October 1940 at 214 Dewey, Buchanan, Michigan, USA.¹
• Residence*: He and Selma Batke lived on 29 October 1979 at Seminole, Seminole County, Oklahoma, USA.⁵
• Residence: Olen Albert Smith and Selma Batke lived before 1980 at 431 Beals Place, Seminole, Seminole County, Oklahoma, USA.⁶
• Marriage*: Olen Albert Smith married Agnes Donley.³
• Death*: Olen Albert Smith died on 13 September 1995 at South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana, USA, at age 77;
  Olen Smith -- Olen A. Smith, 77, of Boca Raton, Florida, formerly of Buchanan, Michigan, died Wednesday, September 13, 1995, at Healthwin Hospital, South Bend, Indiana.
  The funeral was held at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Swem Funeral Home, Buchanan. Memorials may be made to the City of Buchanan for the Buchanan Commons or Buchanan High School Athletic Department.
  Mr. Smith was born June 9, 1918, in Virginia. He retired as the independent owner and operator of Reclamation Oil Fields after 38 years. He was a navy veteran of World War II.
  Survivors include: two daughters -- Judy Maxwell of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, and Cheryl Richeson of Decatur, Alabama; a son Roger Smith of Coloma, Michigan; three step daughters -- Polly Koenegsknect of West Bloomfield, Michigan; Christine Gardner of Noblesville, Indiana, and Linda Morrer of Charlotte, North Carolina; a stepson, John Donley of St. Joseph, Michigan; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his first wife, the former Selma Batke, in October 1940 (sic) and by his second wife, the former Agnes Donley, 1n 1981.^3,2
• Burial*: He was buried on 18 September 1995 at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Buchanan, Berrien County, Michigan, USA.³

Samuel Smith¹

• Birth*: Samuel Smith was born circa 1825 at Ireland.¹
• Immigration*: He immigrated in 1833 to USA.²
• Naturalization*: He was naturalized.²
• Marriage*: He married Bridget McIntyre, daughter of Edward McIntyre and Ann (?) (?).^1,2
• Census, State 1855*: Samuel Smith and Bridget McIntyre appeared on the census of 1855 at New York City, New York County, New York, USA.²
• Occupation*: Samuel Smith was a sadler, i.e., someone who makes saddles. on 19 June 1855.²

Unknown Smith

• Name Variation: Unknown Smith was also known as Smyth.
• Marriage*: He married Mary Reilly.¹
• Death*: Unknown died before 1915.²

Marlin Snipper¹

• Father: Martin Snipper¹ b. 7 Nov 1914, d. 30 Dec 2008

• Birth*: Marlin Snipper was born.¹
• Death*: She died in 1986.¹

Martin Snipper^1,2

Martin (Cohen) Snipper
1914-2008
Photo courtesy: San Francisco Chronicle

• Birth*: Martin Snipper was born on 7 November 1914 at New York City, New York County, New York, USA.^3,4
• Name Variation: As of 7 November 1914, Martin Snipper was also known as Martin Cohen.⁴
• Marriage*: He married Betty Jane Artiga, daughter of Ricardo Ayala Artiga and Mercedes McIntyre, on 12 June 1964 at Alameda County, California, USA.^1,4,5
• Occupation*: Martin Snipper was the San Francisco Arts Commission Director.²
• Residence*: He lived circa 2008 at Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, USA.⁴
• Death*: He died on 30 December 2008 at San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, USA, at age 94.
  Martin Snipper, S. F. backer of public art, dies
  Martin Snipper, a longtime champion of public art who brought a populist philosophy to the San Francisco Arts Commission as its top administrator for 13 years, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his Haight-Ashbury home. He was 94.
  
  Mr. Snipper was an artist and traveler with a storied past: He put himself through art school to become a painter with the Works Progress Administration, taught painting to Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and kept traveling through his retirement, celebrating his 89th birthday in Cuba with his second wife, Betty. At first a painter, he later worked mostly in sculpting, said son Rossi Snipper of Minneapolis.
  
  "He was all about finding that passion in you and doing it," his son said. "He was a pretty independent thinker - he knew what he felt about things, and could be pretty candid about it."
  
  Mr. Snipper is best known in San Francisco for expanding the Arts Commission during his tenure as executive director from 1967 to 1980, and for helping shepherd the Neighborhood Arts Program into existence 40 years ago. Now known as the Community Arts and Education Program, it takes a grassroots approach to art - funding artists and organizations to work in community settings - and has inspired similar programs in cities across the country. San Francisco's program continues to bring writers into public schools, oversee the city's publicly owned cultural centers, and fund art programs and events.
  
  "He took the commission from being a sleepy operation ... and transformed arts in this town to a place it had never been before," said Stephen Goldstine, who ran the Neighborhoods Art Program under Mr. Snipper and later became president of the San Francisco Art Institute. "He was a person of unusual vitality - into his 90s he was still driving his truck to a stone yard in San Mateo to pick up marble. Up until months before his death, he was still a remarkable artist."
  
  Mr. Snipper also ran the now-defunct Summer Pops concerts for 13 years, and the city's annual Arts Festival for 12 years before that. And he secured federal money that allowed the Art Commission to embark on a number of projects that still exist today, such as neighborhood art festivals, community gardens, the program that licenses street artists, and the Arts Commission Gallery.
  
  "A number of the incredibly rich art festivals that still exist in San Francisco came out of the Neighborhood Art Program," said John Kreidler, who worked under Mr. Snipper as an intern at the Arts Commission in 1974 and went on to direct a similar program in Alameda. "The whole neighborhood arts movement started under Martin Snipper's Art Commission. His legacy is this whole populist movement of using artists and San Francisco's artists in particular to serve the broad population."
  
  Mr. Snipper was born Martin Cohen in New York City in 1914 and grew up in Los Angeles. During the Great Depression, he rode the rails back to New York with just $5 in his pocket to attend the National Academy of Art, where he met his first wife, Ethel Weiner. Mr. Snipper applied to the academy twice to ensure he would be accepted: once under his given name and once under his mother's maiden name. When he was accepted as Martin Snipper, he adopted the name permanently.
  
  After he and Weiner were married, they moved to the Los Angeles area, where their daughter, Marlin, was born. She died in 1986. Mr. Snipper came to San Francisco during World War II to work in the shipyards; his family joined him not long after and his son was born in 1949. He and his wife divorced in 1950, and he met Betty Hamilton in 1959, marrying her in 1964. The Snippers spent much of their time in recent years traveling the world, Rossi Snipper said.
  
  In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Snipper is survived by his sister, Pearl Persily of Vallejo; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
  
  No memorial is planned.
  San Francisco Chronicle, January 3, 2009.^2,4,3

Alice Soden¹

• Father: Patrick Soden¹ b. c 1834

• Birth*: Alice Soden was born circa 1876 at County Cavan, Ireland.¹
• (Witness) Census: She appeared on the census of 1901 in the household of Patrick Soden at Kilnacreevy, Stradone, County Cavan, Ireland.¹

Anna Maria Soden¹

• Father: Patrick Soden¹ b. c 1866, d. a 1915
• Mother: Rose Reilly¹ b. 1880, d. 14 Aug 1954

• Charts: Corcoran, Soraghan/Sullivan

• Birth*: Anna Maria Soden was born circa 1898 at County Cavan, Ireland.¹
• (Witness) Census: She appeared on the census of 1901 in the household of Rose Sullivan at Drummuck, Stradone, County Cavan, Ireland.¹
• (Witness) Census: Anna Maria Soden appeared on the census of 1911 in the household of Patrick Soden at Kilnacreevy, Stradone, County Cavan, Ireland.²

Maggie Soden¹

• Father: Patrick Soden¹ b. c 1866, d. a 1915
• Mother: Rose Reilly¹ b. 1880, d. 14 Aug 1954

• Charts: Corcoran, Soraghan/Sullivan

• Birth*: Maggie Soden was born circa 1902 at County Cavan, Ireland.¹
• (Witness) Census: She appeared on the census of 1911 in the household of Patrick Soden at Kilnacreevy, Stradone, County Cavan, Ireland.¹