The Supreme Court of Ohio - Supreme Court - State of Ohio

Former Supreme Court of Ohio Justice Blanche Krupansky,
82, the second woman to serve on Ohio’s high court, died
April 14, 2008.
Appointed by then-Gov. James A. Rhodes on Aug. 28, 1981,
Krupansky filled the unexpired term of Justice Paul W. Brown,
who resigned from the Supreme Court earlier in the month.
“Justice Krupansky made valuable contributions to both the
legal profession and the courts,” Chief Justice Moyer said.
“As the only woman in her law class, she helped clear a path
for the thousands of women who would become attorneys in
Ohio. Besides serving as a trailblazer, she was the consummate
judge, having served at all levels of the Ohio judiciary. Her
contributions will long be remembered.”
Krupansky’s experience as a jurist also included service on
the Cleveland Municipal Court, the Cuyahoga County Court of
Common Pleas and the 8 th District Court of Appeals.
Blanche Ethel Krupansky was born in Cleveland to Frank and
Ann Krupansky on Dec. 10, 1925. Following her education
in Cleveland public schools, she graduated from Flora Stone
Mather College in Cleveland in 1947 and from Case Western
Reserve University Law School in 1948. She began private
practice in 1949, after her admission to the Ohio bar. Later,
she served as an assistant attorney general during the terms of
Ohio Attorney General C. William O’Neill, and was appointed
assistant chief counsel to the Ohio Bureau of Workers’
Compensation.
Krupansky began her judicial career on the city of Cleveland
Municipal Court, serving from 1961 to 1969. She was elected
to her first term on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common
Pleas in November 1968 and re-elected in 1974. In November
1976, she defeated Hugh Corrigan for a seat on the 8 th District
Court of Appeals.
After losing her November 1982 Supreme Court reelection
bid, Krupansky returned to the 8 th District, where
she was appointed to a vacant seat by Gov. Rhodes. Krupansky
campaigned successfully for election to a full six-year term in
November 1988 and retired from the appeals court in 1995.
Affairs of the heart and matters of the court intertwined
when Krupansky married fellow attorney Frank W. Vargo on
April 30, 1960. The couple met while serving as cocounsel on a
case in Cleveland.
Krupansky was selected in 1981 as a member of the Ohio
Women’s Hall of Fame and received numerous other awards
and honoraria. Her younger brother, Robert, also pursued
a legal and judicial career, serving as judge on the Federal
District Court for Northern Ohio and on the Sixth Circuit
Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
in memoriam
Justice Blanche Krupansky
served on the Supreme
Court of Ohio from Sept.
10, 1981, to Jan. 10, 1983.
(Photo: Craig Holman, The
Columbus Dispatch.)
2008 Annual Report • The Supreme Court of Ohio
97
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