Jennifer Kay Snow

Spending even a few hours flipping through Jenny’s photo albums or reminiscing about moments shared with her brings a vivid picture of a woman who loved deeply, protected fiercely, and was enviably organized. Jenny was innately cool, eternally optimistic, and ridiculously fun. Her creativity, brilliance, determination, and beauty left an impression on everyone she knew. She despised the phrase, “It is what it is,” because Jenny never accepted the status quo. She lived life entirely on her own terms.

Jenny was born in Joplin, Missouri, the daughter of Graden and Sharon Snow on May 20, 1969. Four years later, the Snows welcomed the baby of the family, Julie. From an early age, Jenny’s wit and spirited nature made her a force to be reckoned with and one that many would gravitate toward for decades of our lives.

Jenny graduated from Oak Park High and pursued higher education at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, later earning her master’s degree in educational psychology from the University of Kansas. She began a nearly 30-year career at Metropolitan Community College, working as a counselor for the Educational Opportunity Center. Eventually, Jenny rose to Director, dedicating her career to helping first-generation and low-income students achieve their college dreams. It’s not an overstatement to say Kansas City is a smarter place thanks to her.

Her passions were wide and varied, yet she lived for her family. In 1993, she married Jamie Walk, and they spent 27-plus years together, hosting holidays and epic parties, supporting live music and theater, riding, and raising two boys and some lucky dogs and cats. In 1993, their son, Tyler was born, and Connor followed in 1996. Jenny’s love for and devotion to the boys was unwavering, opening their eyes to a world of possibilities and feeling immense pride and peace of mind as they settled into adulthood.

Jenny was true north, a moral compass, an empathetic ear and a voice of reason for everyone she loved. Jenny’s place in her family’s and friends’ hearts was cemented long before her passing, which she faced with characteristic fight and spirit.

Surviving family include her sons, Tyler (his partner, Jessie) and Connor Walk (his wife, Melody, stepson Caiden); parents, Graden and Sharon Snow; sister, Julie Snow-Neer; brother-in-law, Steve; nieces, Morgan and Ella Nerich; and lifelong entourage Meredith and Brenda.