Mary Denise K. (Fenerty) Schneider, 70, died peacefully at home May 20, 2022, after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was the beloved wife of Robert W. Schneider for 50 years. Born in Philadelphia, she was the daughter of the late Ethel and Joseph Fenerty.

She attended St. Matthew’s Catholic School and was proud to be a Bambi, an alumna of St. Huber’s Catholic High School for Girls.

She was an activist for workers’ rights, playing an instrumental role in the passage of the Pennsylvania Worker and Community Right to Know Act (H.B. 1236) in 1984. She was a lifelong advocate for disability rights, especially for intellectually disabled adults.

She was a talented seamstress who sewed her own bridesmaids’ dresses and children’s Halloween costumes.

She loved painting ceramics and made many lifelong friends at her weekly ceramics class while working on pieces she would give as gifts or display at home.

A devout Irish Catholic, she was a longtime member of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, serving as president from 1996 to 1998. She was a member of St. Ann Catholic Church, Emmaus.

She loved her family and friends relentlessly, marking each of their birthdays and anniversaries on her Mary Engelbreit wall calendar.

She is survived by her husband; a daughter, Mary Kate, of Baltimore, Md.; a sister, Bernadette Fenerty, of Baton Rouge, La.; a brother, Michael Fenerty, of Ebensburg; 10 nieces; four nephews and 17 great-nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by a son, Robert (Rory) J. and a brother, Joseph F. Fenerty.

Contributions may be made in her memory to St. Ann School, 435 S. Sixth St., Emmaus, 18049.

Arrangements were made by the Schantz Funeral Home, P.C., Emmaus.