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 The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

for the 18th district from 1969 to 1994. She also served in the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

for the Northampton County district from 1955 to 1966. She was one of only two women (along with

Lisa Boscola Lisa M. Boscola (born April 6, 1962) is an American politician from Pennsylvania currently serving as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 18th Senate District which includes portions of Lehigh and Northampton ...

) to have been elected to the Senate for Lehigh and Northampton counties as of 2015.

Early years and education

Fichman was born on August 18, 1915 in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

to Meir and Pearl Schwartz Fichman and graduated from North Side High School. She received an A.B. degree in Political Science with minors in English and Economics from

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

in 1937. She received an L.L.B degree from Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, Indiana in 1940Jeanette (Fichman) Reibman
(biography). Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University School of Law, retrieved online July 9, 2019. and entered the bar. She received an L.L.D. degree from

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

in 1969.

Career

She worked in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

as an attorney for the

United States War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

from 1940 to 1942 and the U.S. War Production Board from 1944 to 1946. After marrying attorney Nathan L. Reibman in 1943, she relocated with him to the

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...

area to raise a family. In 1954, the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide network of 170,000 ...

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. Reibman served as member of the

for the Northhampton County district from 1958 to 1966. She served as a member of the

for the 18th district from 1969 to 1996. Reibman also served as a trustee for

from 1970 to 1985. Inducted into the

Indiana University Maurer School of Law The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is located on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The school is named after Michael S. "Mickey" Maurer, an Indianapolis businessman and 1967 alumnus who donated $35 million in 2008 ...

Academy of Alumni Fellows in 1993, Reibman retired from her elected position with the Pennsylvania Senate in 1994, after having been reelected seven times. She received honorary degrees from

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...

, Wilson College,

Cedar Crest College Cedar Crest College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. At the start of the 2015-2016 Academic term, academic y ...

, and

Moravian College Moravian University is a private university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The institution traces its founding to 1742 by Moravians, descendants of followers of the Bohemian Reformation under John Amos Comenius. Founded in 1742, Moravian University ...

Death and interment

Reibman died in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...

on March 11, 2006, and was interred at the

Easton Cemetery Easton Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Easton, Pennsylvania and the burial site of many notable individuals. ''Note:'' This includes The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Easton Cemetery's ...

in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Legacy

An administration building on the campus of

East Stroudsburg University East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) is a public university in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. It is one of ten state universities that compose the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). History What today is East S ...

was named in her honor in 1972 and an early childhood learning center on the campus of

Northampton Community College Northampton Community College is a public community college in Pennsylvania with campuses in Bethlehem in Northampton County and Tannersville in Monroe County. The college, founded in 1967, also has satellite locations in the south side of Bet ...

in 1992.

References

External links

Archived version of "Memorial Service for Former Trustee Jeanette Reibman Monday in Colton Chapel"

, March 12, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Reibman, Jeanette 1915 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American academics 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American politicians Burials in Pennsylvania Hunter College alumni Indiana University Maurer School of Law alumni Jewish American state legislators in Pennsylvania Lafayette College alumni Lafayette College trustees Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania lawyers Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Fort Wayne, Indiana Women state legislators in Pennsylvania