L. MANDY STELLMAN

(August 22, 1922 – October 4, 2024)

Born in Toronto, Canada on August 22, 1922, L. Mandy Stellman (neé Leah “Lillian” Mandlsohn) passed away on October 4, 2024 in Pembroke Pines, Florida, at the age of 102.

The daughter of Jewish Russian immigrants, Mandy grew up in her parents’ grocery store in Toronto.  After teaching briefly in a one-room schoolhouse, Mandy married Sam Stellman, her husband of 50 years (who passed away in 1993). The couple emigrated to the United States following the birth of their first child, Steven, in 1945.  After several years in Syracuse, New York, Mandy and Sam settled in Columbus, Ohio, where her second son Leslie was born in 1951.

Mandy was an avid supporter of physical fitness, leading gym classes for both young adults and the elderly at the Columbus Jewish Center.  In her 40s she returned to school, receiving a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University, where she received the Alumna of the Year Award.  She then enrolled as one of the first women in the law school at Ohio State, later transferring to the Marquette University Law School in 1968 when her husband Sam was appointed dean of the University of Wisconsin Social Work Extension programs and the family moved to Milwaukee.  Sam was later appointed director of the University of Wisconsin’s Criminal Justice Institute, and worked with Mandy and her many contacts in law enforcement and on the bench in order to bring justice and sentencing reform to the Wisconsin courts.  One of Marquette’s first female law graduates, Mandy was an active member and the first female member of Tau Epsilon Rho Law Fraternity, a society of largely Jewish attorneys committed to the ideals of inclusion and equality.

Mandy began her legal career in 1970 with one of Wisconsin’s leading criminal attorneys, and was soon trying sophisticated criminal cases, including the pathbreaking introduction of “battered wife syndrome” as a legal defense in a murder case.  From the 1970s onwards, Mandy played a leading role in the cause of women’s civil rights both in Wisconsin and throughout the nation.  She was an ardent member of the National Organization for Women (“NOW”), and marched in Washington, D.C. for the Equal Rights Amendment and other women’s causes.  She and Sam enthusiastically supported the civil rights movement, attending both Dr. King’s 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom as well as the 1968 Poor People’s march following Dr. King’s assassination.

As a private attorney in practice in Milwaukee for 30 years, Mandy initiated landmark discrimination litigation opening up Wisconsin police, fire, and corrections personnel to women and minorities.  Many of Mandy’s lawsuits were supported by the United States Department of Justice.  During the latter part of her career Mandy advocated on behalf of victims of domestic abuse and violence.  Retiring from the practice of law, she moved to the Fort Lauderdale, Florida area in the mid-1990s, leaving behind a legacy of outstanding accomplishments that are chronicled in the 2000 book by Chris Roerden titled What Two Can Do:  Sam & Mandy Stellman’s Crusade for Social Justice.

Mandy is survived by her sons Steven (his wife Jeanne Mager Stellman) and Leslie (his wife Judy Ann Stellman), her grandchildren Emma, Andrew, and Michael, and two great-grandchildren, Lillian and Ray.

Mandy was pre-deceased by her beloved sisters Ettie Milne and Sandy Spring, and brothers Sol, Willie, and Archie Mandlsohn. She will be buried next to her beloved husband Sam at Mt. Sinai Memorial Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a women’s rights organization or charity of your choice.