Milton Maximilian Manshel Jr.

Milton Maximilian “Max” Manshel, of West Orange, NJ passed away on Sunday, March 3, 2019, at the age of 90. Max was born on April 10, 1928, he was a lifelong resident of West Orange, attending Gregory School, Roosevelt Junior High School and graduating from West Orange High School. He went on to attend the University of Missouri, where he was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity and where President Harry Truman commissioned him into the Naval Reserve at graduation. Max retired from the Navy as a Lieutenant Commander. After a 25 year career as Vice President of International Ticket Company, in Newark, New Jersey, inspired by the movie The Paper Chase and his interest in politics, he entered Rutgers Newark law school, graduating with a JD in 1977.

He was a partner at Gladstone Hart in Hackensack and later practiced Employment Law in South Orange. He was active on the American Bar Association Employment Law Committee and Chaired the Employment Rights Committee of the American Association for Justice (formerly American Trial Lawyers Association, ATLA).

He was a member of the West Orange Planning Board and Planning Board Attorney. Max served as Deputy Mayor for Energy Conservation and was a founding member of the West Orange Energy Commission. Active in local Politics, he was a member of the West Orange Democratic Committee and elected to the Essex County Democratic Committee from the early 1960s to the present. In 2018, Max received a Lifetime Achievement award from the town of West Orange.

He shared his broad array of interests with family and friends including; world travel, bird watching, Apple computers, New York theater and contemporary music and art.

Max, was predeceased by his parents Ruth and Milton Manshel Sr and brother Lee Manshel.

He is survived by his loving wife of 66 years, Bernice Lewitter Manshel; their son Andrew Manshel and his wife Heidi Waleson, daughters Roberta Manshel and husband Jay Henneberry, and Cathy Manshel and her husband Bill Rusitzky; seven grandchildren, Hannah and Lily Manshel, Molly, Jamie, and Sam Henneberry, Mitchell and Isabell Rusitzky, and sister Susan Jackman.

A commemoration service will be held in April.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the New Jersey Audubon Society or Family Connections, East Orange, NJ.