ANn Kavanagh Mandt, mother, attorney and nurse Obituary

Ann Kavanagh Mandt, age 74, mother, attorney, nurse, and fighter for the wronged, passed away peacefully on Sept. 10 after a brief illness.

Ann was born July 5, 1941, and grew up on Riverside Drive, the daughter of C. Murray Kavanagh, a lawyer, and Mary Kavanagh, a Broadway actress. She became a Registered Nurse after studying at St. Vincent’s Nursing School in Greenwich Village, and was married to Edward Mandt of Queens in 1965. They had four children, moving from New York to Ohio before settling in Detroit, where Ann earned a Master’s Degree in nursing and taught future nurses as a member of the University of Detroit Nursing Faculty.

After her husband was diagnosed with cancer in 1988, Ann decided to go to law school at the University of Detroit. During her first year, Edward Mandt died at age 53. Ann continued her studies and graduated with distinction in 1991. She joined Charfoos & Christensen, P.C., a prestigious law firm in Detroit, where she used both her medical and legal skills to represent patients injured by medical malpractice. Over time Ann became a prominent Michigan attorney.

Ann was a passionate sports fan and maintained a wonderful sense of humor up to her death. Her positive and optimistic approach to life, even during difficult times, uplifted and comforted everyone in her life. When she could no longer golf and was unable to attend the ESPY Awards in July in Los Angeles, which her daughter Maura produced, her friends first became seriously worried about her health.

Ann is survived by her brothers Charles and Jimmy Kavanagh and sisters Ellen Sydor and Maura Maier of New York. Most important to Ann were her four children who survive her, Maura Mandt of New York, a TV producer; Sheila Mandt, a non-profit executive and her husband Chris Hilbert of Richmond, Virginia; Michael Mandt, a TV producer and his wife Diana Mandt of Hollywood, California; and Neil Mandt, a producer and director and his wife Lauren Mandt, also of Hollywood, California. Two granddaughters, Grace and Charlotte Mandt, also survive her.

In lieu of flowers, donations to either the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, 1264 Meldrum Street, Detroit, Michigan 48207, attention Brother Jerry Smith, or the South Oakland Shelter, 18505 Twelve Mile Road, Lathrup Village, Michigan 48076, would be greatly appreciated.