Mary Jane Lentz

MARY JANE LENTZ, 90 Mary Jane (“MJ”) Lentz (nee Weber), 90, a longtime community chronicler and pioneer in the Boyertown area, and former editor of the Boyertown Area Times, died Sunday, July 5, 2015 in Allentown, PA. A 1942 graduate of Hamburg (PA) High School, she earned her B.S. magna cum laude in 1945 from Albright College, Reading, in social science. Albright named her a distinguished alumnus in 1991. In 2000, she was inducted into the Hamburg High School Fine Arts Hall of Fame. When she married Robert Schneider, she left public school teaching to become a fulltime mother and preacher’s wife. She moved into the Boyertown community in 1957 and raised nine children in a stone farmhouse in the woods surrounded by a beautiful stand of Norway Maples. As editor of the Boyertown Area Times from 1966 to 1989, she earned state newspaper writing awards for editorials, feature series, sports and news. She served as a board member of the Pennsylvania Society of Newspaper Editors from 1977 to 1984. She also earned writing awards for her editorials from the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors. In 1976, she served as its first woman president. She also was an adjunct professor of journalism at Temple University, Philadelphia, and taught creative writing in the Boyertown Schools Adult Education Program. She wrote “Midwinter Mourning and A Town in Tragedy”, a two-volume history of the Boyertown Opera House fire. The January 13, 1908, fire devastated the community with almost every family touched. She recognized each of the 170 people who died in the fire with an obituary. She also wrote and published, “Wilderness Path”, a historical novel about Penns Woods in the 1740s. In 1973, she joined others to help establish the Boyertown Area Multi-Service and served as president in 1974-76. The non-profit agency operates a Senior Center, offers volunteer transportation, serves Meals on Wheels, provides energy assistance, and has an emergency food pantry. For her efforts, the Boyertown Jaycees named her its first female “Man of the Year” in 1977. She has also served as president of the Boyertown Area United Way and of the Boyertown Rotary Club. For many years, she gained strength from and actively supported St. Andrew United Methodist Church, New Berlinville, PA, where she made many life-long friends and served as a spiritual mentor. She was also active in Faith at Work, an ecumenical network of Christians. She met her late husband, Paul Lentz, through Faith at Work. They moved from Boyertown to Allentown, where once again she became active the community of her new home at Phoebe Terrace, producing “Terrace Treasures,” a quarterly newsletter of resident stories. MJ and Paul also made “grandchildren” into a verb visiting more than 20 grandchildren and great-grandchildren across the United States. In addition to her beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she is survived by her brother, William Weber, Scranton, PA and her children: Martha and Steven Smith, Kalispell, MT; Marcus Schneider and Eileen Murphy, Farmington Hills, MI; Henry Schneider and Linda Watson, Skokie, IL; Michael Schneider and Lorie Shane, Havertown, PA; Lars Schneider and Diane Brigham, Pacific Palisades, CA; Brian Schneider and Gordon Becker, Silver Spring, MD; Stephanie Schneider and Robert Paley, Swarthmore, PA; David Schneider and Patricia Riley Schneider, Alamosa, CO; and Douglas and Christine Schneider, Pottersville, NJ. She is also survived by her stepchildren: Jeffrey and Susan Lentz, Walnutport, PA; Jane and Michael Radio, Nazareth, PA; and Ann and George Partow, Dover, PA. Her life will be celebrated Wednesday, July 15, with a 10 a.m. reception and 11 a.m. service at her church home, St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 611 Swamp Creek Road, New Berlinville. Donations may be sent to Boyertown Area Multi-Service, 200 West Spring Street, Boyertown, PA 19512, or Phoebe Ministries, 1925 W Turner St, Allentown, PA 18104.