Joseph C Mandel

Joseph C. Mandel, of Palm Beach and Cleveland — a business leader and philanthropist who was a pillar in the South Florida Jewish community — died on Tuesday, March 22 2016 at 102 years old. With his brothers — Jack (who died in 2011 at age 99) and Morton (who is now 94) — Joseph co-created the Cleveland-based Mandel Foundation in 1953 to support Jewish education and continuity, leadership, higher education and urban neighborhood renewal. Joseph Mandel was born in 1913 in Poland and came to Cleveland when he was seven years old. In 1940, together with his brothers Jack and Morton, Joseph co-founded Premier Industrial Corporation. Premier went public in 1960 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1964; it merged with Farnell Electronics, PLC — based in the United Kingdom — to form Premier Farnell, PLC, in 1996. Joseph Mandel also served as chairman of the executive committee of Parkwood LLC and chairman of the Joseph and Florence Mandel Foundation. He also was an avid sculptor, with his sculptures displayed at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and the Mandel Jewish Community Center in Cleveland. Mandel was a member of the Palm Beach Country Club and a life trustee of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland. Mandel is survived by his daughters Michele Beyer and her husband, Larry, and Penni Weinberg and her husband, Stephen; as well as grandchildren Rob Beyer and his wife, Loren; Anthony Beyer and his wife, Vanessa; Timothy Beyer; Pamela Kahn and her husband, Craig; Jennifer Dinner and her husband, Grant; and Stephanie Miller and her husband, Jared. His great-grandchildren include Bliss Beyer, Belle Beyer, Alexander Beyer, Nikolaus Beyer, Caroline Kahn, Eleanor Kahn, Campbell Kahn, Katie Dinner, Emily Dinner, Benjamin Miller, Nathan Miller and Jay Miller. Mandel was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Florence.