IN MEMORIAM: E. Mayo Snyder, 86;
Planner Involved In Brasilia Founding
COOPERSTOWN – E. Mayo Snyder, 86, of Cooperstown, who was involved in Brasil’s selection of Brasilia before going on to planning director positions in Connecticut and Upstate New York, died on Sept. 19, 2016. The cause of death was a heart attack.
Born in Plainfield, N.J., on April 11, 1930, he had a lifetime of interest in small communities in Central New York State. In his youth, he was an avid sailor on Skaneateles Lake in the summers and hockey player in the winters. In the late 1960s, he co-founded the Skaneateles Youth Hockey League.
He attended Lehigh University and, after for two and a half years, joined the Navy during the Korean War. Following the war, he completed his undergraduate degree at Syracuse University and went on to receive a masters in geography from the University of Illinois.
In 1955, he worked as a consultant to the government of Brazil, on the selection of a site for the new capital – what would become Brasilia. Construction on the site started in 1956. The next year, he entered the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He subsequently graduated from MIT with a masters in city planning.
Over the course of his career, he held various planning director positions in town and county government including in Hamden, Conn., and in Otsego and Cortland counties. In retirement, he dedicated himself to raising his eldest grandson, Michael, boatbuilding and watching NHL hockey games.
He was buried with a graveside service in Keene Valley.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Elizabeth (Betsey) Fenton Snyder; their children, Mason, Alexandra and Charlotte; grandchildren Michael and Grace Balthazor, and Angus and Francesca Wolfe, and two great-grandchildren.
Arrangements are under the care of Tillapaugh Funeral Service, Cooperstown.