By Frederick N. Rasmussen

June 16, 2009

Louise V. Snodgrass, a former mayor of Middletown, Frederick County, who later served several terms in the House of Delegates, died Thursday from breast cancer at her Dover, Del., home. She was 66.

Mrs. Snodgrass' mother, Mary Frances Kramer, 91, who lived in Parkville, died six hours earlier Thursday at the Cromwell Center, a Towson nursing home, family members said.

Louise Virginia Kramer was born in Baltimore and raised in Parkville. After graduating from Maryvale Preparatory School in Brooklandville in 1960, she attended nursing school.

She was a graduate of the University of Maryland Dental School where she trained to be a dental assistant and was certified in 1969.

Mrs. Snodgrass, who worked as a dental assistant for 25 years, was a past president and a member of the Dental Assistants Association from 1979 to 1985. She also served from 1980 to 1983 as a trustee for the American Dental Assistants Association.

Mrs. Snodgrass became politically active when she joined the Frederick County Republican Committee in 1986, and two years later, was elected mayor of Middletown.

Elected to the House of Delegates, she represented District 3, which is in part of Frederick and Washington counties, from 1995 to 2003, and chaired the Frederick County Delegation from 2000 to 2003.

In addition to rural issues, Mrs. Snodgrass had served on the task force on funding for the Maryland School for the Deaf and the Maryland Civil War Heritage Commission.

"She worked hard for the preservation of the South Mountain Battlefield site," said her daughter, Anne Kramer, a WBAL-TV reporter, who lives in Catonsville.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996, Mrs. Snodgrass was active in several breast cancer support groups.

"All her life, she loved helping people," Ms. Kramer said.

She was a member of numerous organizations including the Frederick County Republican Men's Club, the Republican Women's Club of Frederick County, and the Washington County Republican Club.

Six years ago, Mrs. Snodgrass and her husband of 46 years, Franklin P. Snodgrass III, a retired insurance executive, moved to Dover.

She was a communicant of Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church in Dover.

Mrs. Snodgrass was a founding member of Holy Family Roman Catholic Church, 7321 Burkittsville, Middletown, where a Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 10 a.m. Thursday.

In addition to her husband and daughter, survivors include a son, Mark P. Snodgrass of Sharpsburg; her father, Peter F. Kramer of Parkville; and a brother, Donald Kramer of New Freedom, Pa.

Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun