Lois Anita Snowe-Mello (February 27, 1948 – January 24, 2016) was an American politician from

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. Snowe-Mello was a Republican

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

from Maine's 15th District, representing her residence in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

as well as Auburn,

Minot Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

and New Gloucester. She graduated from the County College of Hair Design in 1972 as well as studying at the

County College of Morris A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) ''Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denotin ...

(1976 to 1978) and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

(1980). She served in the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...

for eight years, being first elected in 1996. She first was elected to the Senate in 2004, beating incumbent State Senator Neria Douglass. She was reelected in 2006. In 2008, she faced a tough challenge from Representative

Deborah Simpson Deborah L. Simpson is an American politician from Maine. Simpson served as a Democratic State Senator from Maine's 15th District, representing part of Androscoggin County, including her residence in Auburn from 2008 to 2010. She was elected t ...

and narrowly lost reelection. In 2010, Snowe-Mello bested Simpson in a rematch. She was a cousin of Peter T. Snowe, former U.S. Senator

Olympia Snowe Olympia Jean Snowe (; born February 21, 1947) is an American businesswoman and politician who was a United States Senate, United States Senator, representing Maine for three terms from 1995 to 2013. A lifelong member of the Republican Party (Unit ...

's first husband. She was predeceased by her husband, Brian Mello, who died April 15, 2015. From 2010 to 2012, Snowe-Mello was appointed chair of the Engrossed Bills and Marine Resources committees.

References

1948 births 2016 deaths Politicians from Passaic, New Jersey People from Poland, Maine Republican Party Maine state senators Republican Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Arizona State University alumni County College of Morris alumni Women state legislators in Maine 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Maine Legislature {{Maine-MESenate-stub