Lillian M. Westropp
Lillian Mary Westropp | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | August 15, 1968 (aged 84) |
| Occupation(s) | Judge, banker |
| Known for | First female member on the executive committee of the Cleveland Bar Association; founder of Women's Federal Savings & Loan Association of Cleveland |
Lillian Mary Westropp (May 9, 1884 – August 15, 1968) was a prominent American judge and banker.
Born and raised in Cleveland, Westropp was the daughter of Thomas P. and Clara Stoeckel Westropp. She and her sister Clara were two of nine children growing up on the West Side of the city. After completing her studies at West High School and Dyke School of Commerce, she briefly explored a career in theater before obtaining her LL.B. from the law school at Baldwin-Wallace College in 1915. Focusing on real estate and finance law, she was among the pioneering women admitted to the Cleveland Bar Association and became its first female member on the executive committee.
Westropp served as an assistant county prosecutor starting in 1929, where she introduced a bail bond system that successfully achieved full collection rates. In 1931, she was appointed as a municipal judge and continued to be reelected until her retirement in 1957. During her tenure, she founded a court psychiatric clinic in 1937. Alongside Clara, she established the Women's Federal Savings & Loan Association of Cleveland in 1922, recognized as the first savings and loan institution in the United States operated by women.
A committed participant in Democratic Party activities, Westropp founded Democratic Women, State of Ohio in 1920 and joined the executive committee of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party in 1923. Her memberships extended to organizations such as the Women Lawyers' Club of Cleveland, Women's City Club, League of Women Voters, Catholic Daughters of America, Cleveland Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, Business & Professional Women's Club, and Woman's Hospital.
Westropp remained unmarried and lived with her sister Clara on Southland Avenue in Cleveland. Both were devoted Catholics who created a non-denominational chapel within their bank offices to facilitate daily prayers and weekly Mass services. Their archival materials are preserved at Harvard University.