Marion Munley Distinguished Citizens Memorial Honor

Marion L. Munley, a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and pioneer in women’s equality, will become the first woman included in Scranton’s Distinguished Citizens Memorial when her monument is unveiled on Friday, October 15, on the Spruce Street side of the Lackawanna County Courthouse at 1 PM.

Munley was chosen by officials from the Lackawanna County Arts and Cultural Department and the Lackawanna Historical Society for her indelible mark on State politics and women’s rights. After her husband, Hon. Robert W. Munley, passed away in 1947, she won a special election for his seat in the Pennsylvania State House. She was the first woman elected from Lackawanna County and Northeastern Pennsylvania. Munley was re-elected to office eight times.

During her tenure, she was the first woman elected to a leadership position in the Democratic Caucus in the 300-year history of the legislature. She also became Secretary of the House of Representatives, the first and only woman to hold that position.

Munley was an advocate for equality and fairness throughout her career and was a co-author of House Bill 66 (1959), which prohibited “the discrimination in rate of pay because of sex.” She became the matriarch of a family that would continue in her footsteps in local politics and the legal field. The Munley family will honor their grandmother’s legacy and accomplishments with friends at the unveiling ceremony/program.

The Distinguished Citizens Memorial on Courthouse Square also includes the late: Gov. Robert P. Casey, U.S. Rep. Joseph M. McDade, and former Pennsylvania Governor and UN Ambassador William Warren Scranton, II.