Jack Mashman, WWII veteran, book distributor, poet, philosopher

Jack Mashman died on April 5 of injuries sustained in a fall in his home three days earlier. He was 89. 

He was born in Philadelphia, Pa., on Aug. 13, 1915 to immigrant parents. His mother was a seamstress and his father a carpenter. He grew up loving baseball and writing. As a student he wrote short stories for the Overbrook High School literary magazine the Matrix. Upon graduation he worked as a sheet metal worker in the “navy yard” building planes for World War II. He served in the infantry division in Germany until the war was over.

He returned to the U.S. and married Dorothy Dimondstein. With Dorothy and his brother-in-law, Herb, he built the Dimondstein Book Company into one of the three largest wholesale book distributors in the Northeast. He served as chief financial officer of the company until his retirement to Sarasota and London at age 55.

For the remainder of his life he studied and wrote poetry, a passion that consumed him until the week of his death. He and Dorothy were married 61 years until her death a year ago. 

In the last year of his life he lived at Ridgefield Crossings where he made friends and prided himself on being the resident philosopher, poet and curmudgeon, the family reports. 

Survivors include a brother, A.O. Mashman of Philadelphia; two sons, Dr. Robert Mashman of Del Mar, Calif., and Dr. Jan Mashman of Ridgefield; four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to Americans United for Separation of Church and State, 518 C Street NE, Washington, DC 20002, americansunited@au.org.

04/06/2005