Brandeis Magazine

Deborah Cummis Sandlaufer ’80, of Dover, New Jersey, a former deputy attorney general in New Jersey and a pioneering force in improving domestic-violence and hate-crimes laws, died on June 3, 2016, after a valiant struggle with ovarian cancer. Her areas of practice focused on representing the underdog and fighting for the underprivileged in society. She served as an assistant prosecutor in Union County from 1994-98, overseeing more than 1,000 domestic-violence cases, including a groundbreaking case in which the court accepted her argument that domestic-violence restraining orders were still valid even when the parties had reconciled. From 2003-07, she served as a deputy attorney general for New Jersey, prosecuting hate crimes and Medicaid fraud. She wrote a prosecutor’s manual for hate crimes, as well as training materials for police and community groups. She leaves her son, Samuel; her sisters, Jessica, Andrea and Cynthia; and her mother, Ann Denburg Cummis ’56, P’80. Cynthia Ellen Weinstein ’80, of Evanston, Illinois, a financial consultant, died on Jan. 26, 2016, after a 17-year battle with cancer. She leaves her mother, Dorothy, and her brothers, Bruce and Bryan. Helene Sands-Proulx ’86, of New Britain, Connecticut, died peacefully on March 25, 2016. She spent much of her life writing, working in advertising, creating nonprofit newsletters and sending confrontational letters to assorted politicians. She leaves her husband, Earl; her stepsons, Robert, David and Jason; her parents, Alan and Risa; and her sister, Debbie.