4800 E Indian School Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85018
SNELL, ALICE COSETTE WILEY
October 26, 1932 ~ December 28, 2021
Alice Cosette Wiley Snell of Phoenix, Arizona, known to all as Dinky, died at home peacefully on December 28, 2021, in the bed her great grandfather had made for his bride, Emma Lyons, at the turn of the 19th century and next to her husband of 67 years, Richard Berlin (Dick) Snell, with family all around her.
Dinky was born in Los Angeles, California, to Cosette and Robert Wiley in 1932. She attended Stanford University on scholarships while working several jobs and volunteering to record law school texts for blind students – a volunteer role she continued with Arizona’s Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. Amidst her busy college schedule she also managed to meet her future husband her senior year and graduate in 1954 with a degree in political science. Dick and Dinky were married that year in Hemet, California. They have three daughters, Karen, a San Francisco civil rights attorney; Marilyn, a journalist living in Los Angeles; and Sarah, a physician in Scottsdale. They have two grandchildren, Sophie and Clay Meyer, both living in the San Francisco Bay area.
After Dick’s two-year stint as a U.S. Infantry Officer in Germany, in 1956 the Snells returned to Dick’s hometown of Phoenix, where Dinky’s mother-in-law Betty Snell introduced her and toured her around town, encouraging her to choose a way to give back to the community. It was sound advice but also second nature. Dinky was well aware of her good fortune and also her knack for bringing people together to get things done, immersing herself in Arizona civic and community affairs for the next 50 years. As someone who believed that public education was the backbone of a healthy nation, she worked to help make Arizona State University a flagship campus. She was past chair of the Arizona State University Foundation; was on the Dean’s Advisory Boards of ASU’s College of Education and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; and was a member of the Foundation’s Women in Philanthropy program. In 1998 she and Dick co-chaired the ASU Campaign for Leadership, which raised more than half a billion dollars for the university. In 2002, the family endowed the Alice Wiley Snell Professorship of Education to focus on educational policy research, later modifying the position to better support and promote excellence in the area of teaching.
Dinky was Vice Chair of the Board of the state’s largest health care system, then known as Samaritan Health Service, and served as Chair of the Medical Center Redevelopment Corporation, which, in conjunction with the City of Phoenix, redeveloped a 100-acre area in central Phoenix. She was also the first female Chair of the Valley of the Sun YMCA as well as the Y’s Resource Board; and the Chair of the Governor’s Task Force on Juvenile Corrections.
In 1980 she and Charlotte Buchen formed a business partnership for delivering public relations and communications services, Buchen Snell & Company. In 1985 she left the partnership and joined the Arizona Department of Education as business-industry liaison to develop job training programs. She was later promoted to Deputy Associate Superintendent in the Vocational Division, resigning in 1989 to run for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Though she lost her bid, she never regretted the chance she had to tour the state during her campaign, meet its people, and listen to their ideas about how to make Arizona schools better.
Dinky was named Phoenix Woman of the Year by the Phoenix Advertising Club in 1989 for her community service work. In 1993 she was named Volunteer of the Year by the Alexis de Tocqueville Society of the Valley of the Sun United Way, and in 2008 was honored as a Historymaker, Philanthropist, and Civic Leader by the Arizona Historical Society.
Her powers of persuasion and ability to advance her civic and community agendas were artful, creating the impression that the genesis of the project proposal or innovation had been others’ idea and not hers. Her daughter Karen remembers being on the receiving end of this tactic. As a senior at Arcadia high school in the 1970s, Karen thought it her own rebellious idea to volunteer alongside conscientious Vietnam War objectors to work with mentally disturbed patients at the Arizona State Hospital. Only decades later did she put two and two together when an article about Dinky mentioned that her mother had headed the institution’s volunteer program.
As her daughters came of age in the professional world, Dinky joked bemusedly with them about how in board meetings her ideas were frequently applauded and adopted but only after a male board member had borrowed her suggestions and made them his. She always had her eyes on the prize, though, and maneuvered this world with forbearance, effectiveness, and a really good laugh.
Some progress was made during her lifetime, however. While reading a 1966 Arizona Republic clip about Dinky’s volunteer achievements, her grandson, Clay, 25, thought the paper’s reference to “Mrs. Richard Snell” was a typo. He was unaware that it had been standard practice just two generations before him that a married woman was to be identified in public by her husband’s name. “That’s crazy,” Clay said. Dinky would have agreed.
She was an effortless leader with well-earned accolades and an even better wife, mother, and friend. Hospitality was a social grace she took seriously, whether it was toward her daughters’ teenage friends whose homelife was unhappy and who needed some TLC or Dick’s business clients and associates who needed courting. Even as her daughters began to have their own families there was no doubt where holiday dinners would be. Dinky was queen of the kitchen ¬– the new American hearth ¬– and folks knew they could just stop by and have a seat at her table.
Family vacations abroad were a Dinky specialty but her favorite places were closer to home, with Sunday picnics to the Verde River and tubing on the Salt, weeks at the Snell cabin in Greer, and treks to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
When asked as part of an oral history project for the Arizona Historical Society what advice she would give young people, she said, “Get as much education as you can, work hard, and be kind to others.”
In addition to her husband, daughters, and grandchildren, she is survived by her sons-in-law Eric Meyer and Gregory Williams; beloved sister-in-law Mary Wiley; many nieces and nephew; and siblings Odie Callin and Mike Wiley. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the ASU General Scholarship Fund. Memorial plans pending. Condolences may be expressed at www.whitneymurphyfuneralhome.com.
What a wonderful woman who will be sorely missed. Our travels together to Alaska and Argentina were the best and ones that will leave us with great memories forever. Thank you, Dinky, for all the love and compassion you showed us in your lifetime. With love, affection and esteem. chip and daryl
Dinky was a better athlete than I was but we had lots of fun in GAA [Girls Athletic Assocation] at Hemet Union High School where we graduated in 1950. I am sorry our paths didn’t cross when I lived in Phoenix in 1973 – 1996. Her accomplishments are impressive and I am proud to have been a friend.
Valerie (Bailey) Johnson
Dinky and Dick were a dear friend of my parents, Roger and Marilyn Perry. Over the years, when I saw her about town, she was always so genuine and kind. She will be missed by many
I am so sorry to have just learned this. Dinky was one of my all time favorite people. Dinky was a wonderful and special human being. Good speed Dinky.
With love in my heart I remember Alice “Dinky” Snell. I am grateful to have learned from Dinky as a strong female role model when I was a young fundraising professional. She treated everyone with kindness and respect. She was a fearless and wise YMCA volunteer, and in 1992, Dinky was elected as the first female board chair for the 100 year old Valley of the Sun YMCA. She proceeded to lead the board chair with wisdom, poise and grace. Her laugh, her quiet power, her strong female energy and her wicked (as they say these days) smarts— Dinky was a wonderful human being. I am so grateful to have enjoyed her presence professionally and personally- usually with a glass of wine at Charlotte’s house, back in the day. Love to the entire Snell clan- Susan Waschler
I first met Dinky when Eddie and Dinky were Man and Woman of the year together – what a pair! They had such fun together. On a personal level, I was privileged to serve with her on the Dean’s Advisory Board for Education where I got to know her better. She was kind, wise, funny and a great mentor to me. The state of Arizona is a better place thanks to her sense of community and civic involvement.
I am sending my deepest condolences and love to all the family.
I was surprised to read Dinkys obituary. I had no idea she had accomplished so much! She was such a down to earth person and so humble. I had the privilege of going on a Grand Canyon River trip with Dick and Dinky. She was 70 when they hiked into the Canyon to hop on the River trip. She and Dick were so much fun to hang out with. She was generous and smart and funny. My deepest condolences to Dick and her daughters. She will be deeply missed.
I was one of those neighborhood kids who found safety and comfort whenever I was over at the Snell’s. Dinky always made me feel welcomed, some of my fondest childhood memories were playing with Sarah at her house. When we were running wild in the neighborhood and we got hungry, we knew whose kitchen to go to. I can still see Dinky’s kitchen clearly and I where she stashed the Mint Chocolate Girl Scout cookies! She was the most present mom in the neighborhood, and I will always love her for that.
Dick, Karen, Marylin and Sarah (& family) you are all so fortunate to live your lives with Dinky front and center, oh how she loved you all.
Dinky was Chair of the Governor’s Task Force on Juvenile Corrections when I was Director. She was smart, humble, and generous and had so much integrity. She could be tough when it came to defending kids. She was committed to Dick and her daughters and then to her grandchildren. She loved black labs and books and being outside. She had a great laugh. She disliked talking about herself and so I had to find out about her life in bits and pieces. She was a straight-shooter. She visited my house after I had sponge painted my living room walls. She asked, “Did you mean to do that?”
She had great privilege and never took it for granted. Her mother-in-law taught her that “to whom much is given, much is expected.” She was totally unpretentious.
When my mother was dying, she showed up at the hospital. When I was going through a rough patch with my teen-aged son, she sent me a card that read, “They say that kids keep you young, but they don’t tell you that first they make you old.” She touched and improved so many lives. I am grateful mine was one of those.
If doing good, doing the right thing, respecting the human dignity of all, promoting opportunity, especially in education, then Dinky’s life of love and caring and engagement is the “beacon” for all of us to follow.
Our thoughts & prayers are with you Dick and family! ez
Dinky was a great inspiration to me when she chaired the Education Committee of the Arizona Science Center and in years after. She had a great sense of humor, much kindness and generosity, and incredible insight into people and institutions. What a role model she was! My heartfelt condolences go to her wonderful family.
When Dinky worked at the Arizona Department of Education I worked for the Yuma County Superintendent which brought us together working as advocates for the private sector. She was so sharp and concerned and effective. It was a pleasure and a learning experience to work with her. Her entire family can be so proud of her, thank you for sharing her with the rest of us and with our state.
I have only just discovered this obituary notice – I have the fondest memories of staying with the Snells in Phoenix in 1975 as a 16-year-old from Northern Ireland….touring the United States with nothing much except an address book of kind people who might be willing to accommodate me. The Snells were kindness itself.
Enjoying the beautiful landscape of Arizona and
cascading down a tumultuous river were new experiences for a visitor who was more accustomed to green pastures and heathery hills. With the greatest affection I salute Dinky Snell and send warm greetings to her family…Bruce Clark (author and semi-retired journalist)