Notes:
Data source and researcher is Jean Cawley Corazza, E-mail jcorazza@verizon.net
Hazleton Standard Speaker, Saturday, June 12, 1999:
Grace Mumaw Snyder, 89, retired area elementary teacher, of Lake Nuangola, formerly of Hazleton, died May 29 in Mercy Hospital, Wilkes-Barre. She taught for more than 35 years in the Hazleton Area School District. Her last teaching position was at A.D. Thomas Elementary School.
She was the founder of the Nuangola Public Library and purchased and donated all the wetlands surround Lake Nuangola and donated them to Wilkes College for preservation. She was the founder of the Nuangola Environmental Action committee and a member of the Nuangola Lake Association. She served on the board of directors of the Nuangola Chapel and was the chairwoman for the Nuangola Bicentennial Committee in 1976. In addition, she edited the 'Nuangola Bicentennial Book' and was one of the first supporters in Pennsylvania of public television and radio. She was an avid local historian and conservationist. Nationally, she was affiliated with Nature Conservancy, the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, the Wilderness Society, the American Farmland Trust, Common Cause, Planned Parenthood, and American Indian Charities.
Born in Stockton, she was the daughter of Harry and Nellie (Williams) Mumaw, and was a graduate of Hazleton Senior High School. She earned degrees from Bloomsburg State Teachers College and Muhlenberg College. She was a Sunday school teacher at First Presbyterian Church, Hazleton, for many years, and was a member of Eastern Star, a board member of Hospice St. John, the Hazleton Historical Society, and in 1984 was named United Way Volunteer of the year.
Preceding her in death, in addition to her parents, were her husband, Willard Snyder, in 1977, and a sister, Ruth (Mumaw) Engell, in 1998. Surviving are two nephews, both of whom served as her caretakers, John Engell, San Jose, Calif., and James Engell, Acton, Mass.
Services were held June 2 at the Nuangola Chapel with burial in St. Johns Cemetery, Drums. Memorials may be made to Nature Conservancy of Pennsylvania.