Biography

08/18/1915 - 03/11/2006

Early Life:

Jeanette F. Reibman (Democrat), born August 18, 1915, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, daughter of Meir and Pearl Swartz Fichman; A.B., political science, Hunter College, 1937; LL.B., Indiana University Law School-Bloomington, 1940; LL. D, Lafayette College, 1969; married, Nathan L. Reibman for 62 years; three sons, Attorney, Joseph M. of Allentown, Lehigh County Judge Edward D., of Emmaus, Dr. James E., Lafayette College Professor of Allentown; died March 11, 2006.

Early Career:

Attorney, Tax Amortization Branch, U.S. War Department, Washington D.C., 1940-1941; U.S. War Production Broad, 1941-44; U.S. Supreme Court Certification, 1944

Awards and Organizations:

The Honorable Reibman was a member of Education Commission of the States; Sigma Delta Tau; Delta Kappa Gamma; Phi Delta Kappa and Order of the Eastern Star; Temple Covenant of Peace, Easton, and Hadassah, receiving the Myrtle Wreath Award in 1976. She received the Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania Award and medal from the Governor of Pennsylvania in 1968; an administration building on the campus of Stroudsburg University was named after her in 1972, as well as the early childhood learning center at Northampton Community College in 1992. She received a Public Service Award from the Pennsylvania Psychological Association in 1977 and the Jerusalem City of Peace Award from the Government of Israel in 1977. She was named to the Hunter College Alumni Hall of Fame in 1974 and University of Indiana Alumni Fellow in 1993. She was a trustee emerita, Lafayette College; a board member of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency; the Pennsylvania Council on Arts, and Camphill Schools. She was a member of the board of the former Forks of the Delaware United Fund; Northampton County Family Counseling Service; Lehigh Valley Hospital Planning Commission; Delaware Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, receiving a Distinguished Citizen Award from the Minsi Trail Council; Pennsylvania Library Association; board of trustees Lafayette College; St. Luke’s Hospital and served on the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected to Pa. House of Representatives, 1954-1956 and 1958; served until 1966.

Elected to Pa. Senate, 1966; served as Education Chair, 1970-1980; Minority Caucus Administrator, 1991-1992; Majority Caucus Administrator, 1993-1994; left office November 30, 1994.

Legacy:

Reibman was the first female Democratic member elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate and was the first woman elected to the Democratic Leadership in 1991 as the Minority Caucus Administrator. She dedicated her career in public service to supporting the improvement and expansion of educational opportunities for Pennsylvanians. She was an advocate for community colleges, special education, vocational education programs, as well as the statewide university system with honorary degrees from Lehigh University, Wilson College, Cedar Crest College and Moravian College.

Upon her death, former Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell said of her, “She was one of the first women to serve in the Pennsylvania Senate and brought dignity, class, and grace to Harrisburg. She had a tireless work ethic and a dedication to the people of the Lehigh Valley.”

Cited:

1967 Pa Manual

1993-1994 Pa Manual

Quote from Governor Edward Rendell: https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-2006-03-12-3649065-story.html