Milton Manshel

Milton Maximilian “Max” Manshel, 90, a lifelong resident of West Orange, died March 3, 2019.

Mr. Manshel graduated from West Orange High School. He enrolled at 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.

He retired from the Navy as a Lieutenant Commander.

After a 25-year career as vice president of International Ticket Company
in Newark, inspired by the movie “The Paper Chase” and his interest in politics, he entered Rutgers-Newark law school, graduating with a J.D. in 1977.

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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).

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. He was a member of the West Orange Planning Board and Planning Board attorney. He served as deputy mayor for energy conservation and was a founding member of the West Orange Energy Commission. In 2018, he received a Lifetime Achievement award from the town.

He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Bernice Lewitter Manshel; his son, Andrew (Heidi Waleson); two daughters, Roberta Manshel (Jay Henneberry) and Cathy Manshel (Bill Rusitzky); and seven grandchildren.

A commemoration service will be held in April; arrangements were handled by Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel, Livingston. Memorial contributions may be made to New Jersey Audubon Society or Family Connections, East Orange.