Biography

12/24/1951 - 03/04/2023


SNYDER, Donald William, a Representative from Lehigh County; born in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pa., December 24, 1951; graduated, Parkland High School, 1969; A.A., Lehigh County Community College, 1971; B.A., The Pennsylvania State University, 1973;  M.B.A, Lehigh University, 1976; J.D., Villanova University School of Law, 1981; LL.M., Dickinson School of Law (now Penn State Dickinson Law), taxation and commerce, 1989; accountant, Mack Trucks, Inc., (1973-1976); project accountant, Air Products and Chemicals (1977-1980); attorney, Steckel and Stopp; member, South Whitehall Township Planning Commission (chair, 1974-1978, president, 1977-1981); elected as a Republican to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 1981 term and served 9 consecutive terms thereafter; appointed, Select Committee to Study the Availability of and Need for Services to Handicapped Persons 21 Years of Age or Older (1985-1986); appointed, Select Committee to Investigate the Tragedy of Teenage Suicide (1986); appointed, Select Committee on Land Use and Growth Management (1990); appointed, Local Government Commission (1991-1996); elected, Majority Policy Chair (1995-1996); elected, Majority Whip (1997-2000); appointed, Joint State Government Commission (1997-2000); not a candidate for reelection to the House for the 2001 term; president, Lehigh Carbon Community College (2000-2013); appointed, Keystone Commission on Education for Employment in the 21st Century (2001-2002); died, March 3, 2023 in Orefield, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. 
 

 

 

Archival Collections

 

Papers of Donald W. Snyder, 1981-2000, Pennsylvania House of Representatives Archives, Harrisburg.


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