Island Icon: Ron Mandelbaum

By ANN BANCROFT, Coronado Historical Association Volunteer

When Ron Mandelbaum first saw Coronado in 1969, he appraised the view south of the Hotel Del Coronado and saw “nothing but sand.” The Coronado-San Diego bridge was half finished, its middle section a gaping hole.  Soon, work was to begin on the controversial Coronado Shores high-rise development, and Ron’s employer, Loews, sent him to Coronado to scope out a possible restaurant location for the planned high-rise community. The restaurant never materialized, but Mandelbaum and his wife Mercy fell in love with Coronado, eventually buying a second home in the Cays in 1976, moving permanently to Coronado in 1999, and to the village in 2004.

“Mercy grew up in a small town, where everybody was in everybody’s business,” he said. “Coronado isn’t like that. It has the advantages of being small, with good restaurants and cultural amenities, but you can have your privacy, and you’re ten minutes away from a major city.”

Ron and Mercy, an upbeat and lively couple, were inseparable for the 60 years of their marriage. Both gave generously of themselves to the city’s cultural, political, and historical resources. Mercy died in May of 2024, the most difficult experience of Ron Mandelbaum’s life.

Still, Ron’s gregarious, affable personality enlivens social gatherings, meetings of the Coronado Democratic Club, and the Mandelbaum Family Lecture series, which Ron and Mercy started along with the Center for Jewish Culture in 2007.

“Mercy was born and raised Catholic. We’re not religious, and she really liked Jewish values and traditions,” such as strong family relationships, Jewish history, and cultural traditions, Mandelbaum said. The idea of the lecture series was to provide exposure to non-Jews and Jews alike, and programs have included klezmer music, authors, and lecturers

on Jewish-related subjects. The program has been popular with both Coronadans and visitors to the island. “We didn’t want just Jewish people to come; we wanted it to be for everybody,” Mandelbaum says.

The major Jewish holiday the Mandelbaums regularly observed was Passover, “because it was held in the house, with family, and we felt it was a good teaching opportunity for our children as they grew older,” telling them the importance of working towards freedom and justice for all.

Ron has two sons and three grandchildren. Son Mickey lives in Los Angeles, and Matt lives in Oakland.  Ron’s greatest thrill is spending time with the grandkids, and he marvels that they enjoy spending time with him.

The couple were regular subscribers and supporters of Lamb’s Players Theater and the Coronado Historical Association, where Mercy volunteered. Both were active members of the Coronado Democratic Club, with Ron serving as president multiple times. Soon after moving to the island, they marched with Coronado Democrats in the July 4th Parade (his favorite Coronado event). At the time, there were fewer than two dozen club members, so Ron decided to market as he would in real estate. He found addresses for every registered Democrat in the city, writing personal letters urging them to join. The club quickly grew to more than 100 members, and today it boasts 250.

Born in the Bronx, New York, in 1937, Ron graduated from City College of New York and attended Brooklyn Law School in the evenings, when he was “working at any job I could get.”  After law school, he went to work for Loews, and the company sent him to Los Angeles to establish a real estate division.

“I loved my work. I was very lucky, and I was able to make a good living. My advice to my 16-year-old self would be to strive in life to do what is enjoyable to you,” he said. Don’t base choices on how much money it will make you, but on “how you can contribute to society.”

Ron loves problem solving with clients, creatively and collaboratively reaching win-win agreements. “I never understood the (business) approach of people who think of themselves as adversaries,” he says. The best career move he ever made, he said, was to go into business for himself.

“Being my own boss, I could decide who I wanted to deal with. Also, family was very important to me, so I made it a priority to be home for dinner. In business, people would say, “Let’s have dinner and talk about it; I couldn’t do that.”

At 88, Mandelbaum still works part-time as a probate referee for the San Diego County Probate Court, valuing estate assets. He’s active in the Probate Referees Association, serving as their ethics chairman and one-time president.

True to its mission to serve as Coronado’s primary center for community history, the Coronado Historical Association (CHA) conducts special oral history interviews with Coronado natives and long-time residents. This special, ongoing project is called “Island Icons.” Oral history is critical to capturing local history because it helps us record information and stories that might otherwise go undocumented. Local history is not included in national textbooks or history books, so it is up to organizations like CHA to collect these important first-hand accounts and memories for the future. Island Icons stories are permanently archived at CHA. More information about the program can be found at coronadohistoryexhibit.org.