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, stagger ...

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 described by ''The Morning Call'' newspaper of

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

prior to the 1954 elections as "the first woman ever to seek political office in orthamptoncounty" and as the "First Northampton County Woman to Win Assembly Seat" in its post-election headlines, 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.

Early years and education

Born as Jeanette Lillian Fichman in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. 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 at the 2020 census ...

on August 18, 1915, to Meir and Pearl Schwartz Fichman, 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 Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. 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 ...

in 1937.Laepple, "First Northampton County Woman to Win Assembly Seat Is Housewife and Lawyer," ''The Morning Call'', November 21, 1954, p. 48. Fichman was then awarded a Legum Baccalaureus (Bachelor of Laws) degree by 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 was subsequently admitted to the bar. In 1969, she was awarded a Doctor of Laws degree (L.L.D.) by

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

Career

She worked in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

as an attorney for the tax division of 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, als ...

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 and the Delawa ...

area to raise a family. During the early to mid-1950s, she was a member of the bars of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

, the U.S. Federal Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the

United States Tax Court The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a Federal judiciary of the United States, federal trial court court of record, of record established by US Congress, Congress under Article One of the United States Constitution, Article ...

. 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 Justice, equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide Social net ...

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 the law school of Indiana University Bloomington, a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. Established in 1842, the school is named after alumnus Michael S. "Mickey" Maurer, an Indianapo ...

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), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

, Wilson College,

Cedar Crest College Cedar Crest College is a private liberal arts women's college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 2024, the college enrolled 886 undergraduate and 362 graduate students. Students of all genders can pursue degree programs through the Scho ...

, and

Moravian College Moravian University is a private university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The institution traces its history to girls' and boys' schools opened in 1742 by Moravians, descendants of followers of the Bohemian Reformation under John Amos Comenius. ...

Death and interment

Reibman died in

on March 11, 2006.

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 ...

was named in her honor in 1972. 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 B ...

was then named in her honor 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 Hunter College alumni Indiana University Maurer School of Law alumni Jewish state legislators in Pennsylvania Jewish American women in politics 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 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly