Ann Dobbs Tuohy
January 20, 1927 - July 16, 2024
Vida Ann Dobbs Tuohy, longtime Snohomish, Wash., resident, died on July 16 in Mill Creek, Wash. She was born on Jan. 20, 1927, in Everett, Wash., the only child of Thomas E. Dobbs and Vida Anderson Dobbs. (Tom Dobbs owned and published the Snohomish Tribune from 1922-1955.)
They preceded her in death, as did her husband Cedric E. M. Tuohy, Jr., her eldest son C. Thomas Tuohy and her infant daughter Elizabeth.
She is survived by her son Craig (Marilyn) Tuohy and her daughter Claire Tuohy-Morgan (Harvey Morgan); six grandchildren: Julia and Edward (Katie) Tuohy; Vaughan (Jenny) and Adrian (Michelle) Tuohy; Matthew and Thomas Morgan; and three great-grandchildren.
Ann and Ced grew up together in Snohomish and were proud Snohomish High grads, and residents for all but their final years, spent in Everett. The kids in their neighborhood, the “Avenue C Gang,” were friends for life. They loved to tell stories of summers spent camping at Hemple Creek with Ann’s mother and the Peterson family.
Ann graduated from Snohomish High School as salutatorian in 1945, and from the University of Washington, where she was a member of Delta Gamma Fraternity, in 1949. Ced and Ann married in 1949, living first in Montreal, Quebec, as Ced earned his medical degree at McGill. After Ced’s internship in Seattle, they returned to Snohomish to raise their family.
Ann learned to ski and hunt to share those sports with Ced, and they attended decades of Husky football and pro sports together. They created lasting memories for their children through summers at the beach, skiing (especially in Sun Valley, Idaho) and epic road trips. Ann logged many miles driving kids to Stevens Pass, horse shows and sports practices, many hours on football and Little League bleacher seats and cooked hundreds of meals for her children’s friends.
A lifelong member of St. John’s Episcopal Church, she sang in the choir and served on the vestry; was a longtime member of the Everett Woman’s Book Club; belonged to multiple organizations and served on civic boards. But Ann will be remembered most as an avid reader and careful researcher who spent her days immersed in learning, especially genealogy, since the ‘70s. She traveled to Ireland, England and Sweden to research, seeking proof and accuracy. She loved local history, and spent years working on the Snohomish Historical Society archives. Computer hardware, detailed and highly organized notebooks, meticulous file folders, family histories and photos and books on a wide variety of subjects filled her home office. She was reading shortly before her death, and looking forward to Louise Penny’s next book.
Services will be held on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2 p.m., at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Snohomish.