George Birge Snell

George Birge Snell 1923 - 2016
Son of Herkimer
HAWORTH, NJ/COOPERSTOWN, NY- George Birge Snell, of Haworth, NJ, and Cooperstown, NY, died on March 16, 2016, at home in Haworth.
The fifth child of Katharine Kinne and Cornelius Harry Snell, he was born in 1923 in the old family home on North Main Street, which stood on the site of the present-day Herkimer Library. George Snell attended local schools and was president of the Herkimer High School Class of 1941. He served in General Patton's Army in North Africa and Europe during World War II. After graduating from Yale with the Class of 1945 and from New York University Law School in 1952, he practiced trusts and estates law at Turk, Marsh, Kelly & Hoare; Bryan Cave; and McLaughlin & Stern. He advised and served on the boards of the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, the Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration, the Freeman Foundation, the New York State Historical Association, the Otsego Land Trust, and the Snell-Zimmerman-Timmerman Reunion, among other community organizations. He was also instrumental in preserving the scenic northern end of Otsego Lake.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Sigrid Leube Snell; by two children, Andrea Snell, of Ridgewood, NJ, and Dietrich Snell, of Manhattan; and grandchildren, Julia Workman, Marcus Workman, Jack Snell and Alixandra Snell. He is also survived by his sisters, Cornelia Bensley, of Danville, CA, Katharine Sigety, of Pipersville, PA, and Mary Martin, of Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. He was predeceased by his brother, Harry Snell, and sister, Julia Snell Wood.
Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family would welcome memorial donations to Otsego Land Trust of Cooperstown, NY, or The Herkimer County Historical Society of Herkimer, NY.