Jeanette Reibman

Jeanette F. Reibman (August 18, 1915 – March 11, 2006) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 18th district from 1969 to 1994. She also served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the Northampton County district from 1955 to 1966.[1][2]

Jeanette F. Reibman
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
from the 18th district
In office
January 7, 1969 – November 30, 1994
Preceded byJustin Jirolanio
Succeeded byJoseph Uliana
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the Northampton County district
In office
January 5, 1955 – November 30, 1966
Personal details
Born
Jeanette Lillian Fichman

(1915-08-18)August 18, 1915
Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.
DiedMarch 11, 2006(2006-03-11) (aged 90)
Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
SpouseNathan L. Reibman (m. 1943)

She was described by The Morning Call newspaper of Allentown, Pennsylvania prior to the 1954 elections as "the first woman ever to seek political office in [Northampton] county" and as the "First Northampton County Woman to Win Assembly Seat" in its post-election headlines,[3][4][5] and was also one of only two women (along with Lisa Boscola) to have been elected to the Senate for Lehigh and Northampton counties as of 2015.[6]

Early years and education

Born as Jeanette Lillian Fichman in Fort Wayne, Indiana on August 18, 1915, to Meir and Pearl Schwartz Fichman[7] Jeanette Fichman graduated from North Side High School, and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with minors in English and Economics at Hunter College in 1937.[8][9]

Fichman was then awarded a Legum Baccalaureus (Bachelor of Laws) degree by Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, Indiana in 1940[10] and was subsequently admitted to the bar.[7][11] In 1969, she was awarded a Doctor of Laws degree (L.L.D.) by Lafayette College.[8]

Career

She worked in Washington, D.C. as an attorney for the tax division of the United States War Department from 1940 to 1942[12] and the U.S. War Production Board from 1944 to 1946.[8] After marrying attorney Nathan L. Reibman in 1943, she relocated with him to the Easton, Pennsylvania area to raise a family.[10][13]

During the early to mid-1950s, she was a member of the bars of the Supreme Court of the United States, the U.S. Federal Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the United States Tax Court.[14]

In 1954, the American Association of University Women recommended she run for to the Easton Area School Board and she was elected. She soon realized that she could do more to help with Easton schools at the state level.[15]

Reibman served as member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the Northhampton County district from 1958 to 1966.[8][16][17] She served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 18th district from 1969 to 1996.[18]

Reibman also served as a trustee for Lafayette College from 1970 to 1985.[19]

Inducted into the Indiana University Maurer School of Law Academy of Alumni Fellows in 1993, Reibman retired from her elected position with the Pennsylvania Senate in 1994, after having been reelected seven times.[10] She received honorary degrees from Lehigh University, Wilson College, Cedar Crest College, and Moravian College.[7]

Death and interment

Reibman died in Allentown, Pennsylvania on March 11, 2006, and was interred at the Easton Cemetery in Easton, Pennsylvania.[20]

Legacy

An administration building on the campus of East Stroudsburg University was named in her honor in 1972. An early childhood learning center on the campus of Northampton Community College was then named in her honor in 1992.[7]

References
  1. Cox, Harold. "House Members "R"". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
  2. "Three Women Elected." Hazleton, Pennsylvania: The Plain Speaker, November 3, 1954, p. 22 (subscription required).
  3. "Bitter Pre-Election Drives Draw Rapidly to Climax; Hot Battles for All Posts." Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, November 1, 1954, p. 7 (subscription required).
  4. Laepple, Kate Zoll. "First Northampton County Woman to Win Assembly Seat Is Housewife and Lawyer." Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, November 21, 1954, p. 48 (subscription required).
  5. "All Democratic Candidates Carried into Office in Northampton County; Mrs. Reibman Leads Assembly Race." Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, November 3, 1954, p. 12 (subscription required).
  6. Lane, Shannon (August 31, 2015). "Where are the women in Lehigh Valley government?". The Express-Times. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  7. "Senator Jeanette F. Reibman". www.mcall.com. 12 March 2006. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  8. "Pennsylvania House of Representatives - JEANETTE F. REIBMAN Biography". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  9. Laepple, "First Northampton County Woman to Win Assembly Seat Is Housewife and Lawyer," The Morning Call, November 21, 1954, p. 48.
  10. "Jeanette (Fichman) Reibman" (biography). Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University School of Law, retrieved online July 9, 2019.
  11. Laepple, "First Northampton County Woman to Win Assembly Seat Is Housewife and Lawyer," The Morning Call, November 21, 1954, p. 48.
  12. Laepple, "First Northampton County Woman to Win Assembly Seat Is Housewife and Lawyer," The Morning Call, November 21, 1954, p. 48.
  13. "Woman Lawyer in Democratic Assembly Race." Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, February 4, 1954, p. 6 (subscription required).
  14. "Woman Lawyer in Democratic Assembly Race," The Morning Call, February 4, 1954, p. 6.
  15. "Jeanette Reibman Papers: 1955-1998 - Biographical Sketch". www.sites.lafayette.edu. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  16. Laepple, "First Northampton County Woman to Win Assembly Seat Is Housewife and Lawyer," The Morning Call, November 21, 1954, p. 48.
  17. "All Democratic Candidates Carried into Office in Northampton County; Mrs. Reibman Leads Assembly Race," The Morning Call, November 3, 1954, p. 12.
  18. "Pennsylvania State Senate - Jeanette F Reibman Biography". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  19. Gendebien, Albert W. (1986). The Biography of a College: A History of Lafayette College 1927 - 1978. Easton, PA: Lafayette College.
  20. "Jeanette F. Reibman". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
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