Jeanne Blackistone Dorsey Mandel (May 11, 1937 – October 6, 2001) was a First Lady of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and second wife of former

Maryland Governor The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

Marvin Mandel Marvin Mandel (April 19, 1920 – August 30, 2015) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th Governor of Maryland from January 7, 1969, to January 17, 1979, including a one-and-a-half-year period when Lt. Governor Blair ...

, whom she had met in January 1963. She was a native of

Leonardtown Leonardtown is a town in and the county seat of St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,563 at the 2020 census. Leonardtown is perhaps most famous for the national oyster-shucking championship that is held annually at the ...

, St. Mary's County, Maryland. Mrs. Mandel died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned f ...

's disease). Jeanne Blackistone Dorsey was elected as one of Leonardtown's Town Commissioners in 1968, the first woman elected to public office in St. Mary's County. She served two consecutive two-year terms in that office while holding the position of Leonardtown's first female police commissioner. She also served for two years as vice-chair of the Southern Maryland Municipal League and as a member of the Board of Parks and Recreation of St. Mary's County. Her son, John Dorsey, is a former general manager of the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

References

1937 births 2001 deaths American Jews Converts to Judaism from Roman Catholicism Deaths from motor neuron disease Neurological disease deaths in Maryland First Ladies and Gentlemen of Maryland Local officeholders in Maryland Women in Maryland politics People from Leonardtown, Maryland 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women {{US-poli-bio-stub