Mary Ellen Snively

Mary Ellen Snively passed away on October 24, 2023 at her residence at Londonderry in Easton, MD. She was born in Harrisburg, PA in 1937, the daughter of John J. and Anna (Koser) Snively. For grades one through three, she attended a one room schoolhouse with eight other students in Wyomissing Hills, PA. She later graduated from Wyomissing High School in 1955. In 1959, she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from West Chester University and later earned a Master of Arts Degree in Elementary Education from West Chester University, PA. She did postgraduate work at University of Hawaii and Villanova University where she earned certification in Library Science. Mary Ellen taught elementary education in Upper Darby School District, PA for 33 years. She retired in 1992, after which she volunteered for Friends of Smedley Park, Garnet Valley Strategic Planning Steering Committee, and the Board of the new Rachel Kohl Library. When they realized Garnet Valley was the only township in Delaware County, PA that had no adult night school, she and a few friends initiated the Garnet Valley Continuing Education program. This was an especially rewarding endeavor. For thirty years, Mary Ellen worked for the homeless in Scranton, PA, Delaware County, PA, and Denton, MD. In 1999, she moved to the Endless Mountains in Susquehanna, PA where she had bought fourteen remote acres of land in 1983. This was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to be close to nature. For many years she was active in Habitat for Humanity and the Stewardship Committee for the local Nature Conservancy Preserve in Susquehanna County. In 2005, she moved to the Wesleyan Retirement Community in Denton, MD where she joined the Women’s Club, Caroline County Historical Society, and Voice of the Homeless. It was not long before she was again fulfilling her passion for designing and maintaining gardens at the Council of the Arts, the Caroline County Animal Shelter, the Fabric Center of the Eastern Shore in Denton, and historic Linchester Mill in Preston, MD. She was particularly dedicated to building the gardens at the Mill. In total, over the years she planted over 650 trees and 300 shrubs. When her hands weren’t in the soil, she was a jazz, folk, and big band enthusiast, enjoyed hiking, writing, reading, and the study of history and Native American cultures. She had a lifelong love for all creatures great and small and was devoted to the many dogs and cats she adopted and nurtured. Her hobbies were crafts and baking. Mary Ellen is survived by a sister, Dorothy Snively Vanderpool, nephew John Vanderpool, niece Virginia Vanderpool and her husband Jeffrey Lucas, and grandnephew, Willem Lucas. She will be buried in a private ceremony in the family plot in Reading, PA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in honor of Mary Ellen’s memory to: Immune Deficiency Foundation, P.O. Box 735108, Chicago, IL 60673-5108 or the Fund for Johns Hopkins Medicine, Department of Neurology and Brain Sciences, Center for Restless Legs Syndrome, 550 N. Broadway, Suite 736B, Baltimore, MD 21205.

Mary Ellen Snively

March 31, 1937 - October 24, 2023