Muriel "Manny" Tuteur

1922 - 2016

May 17, 1922 - February 3, 2016 Muriel Friedman (Manny) Tuteur of Laguna Woods, CA, aged 93, died February 3rd. A native and longtime resident of Chicago, Manny was the youngest of nine siblings. She was married to the late Charles Tuteur, who escaped Nazi Germany before the war, for 63 years. She worked as a ship fitter and served in the Women's Army Corps in World War II. A proud alumna of the University of Chicago, after the war she worked briefly as a caseworker for Cook County then for many years as a preschool educator for the Jewish Community Centers. In 1969, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACTWU) hired her to start the first union-sponsored day care center in the country: the Amalgamated Day Care and Health Center operated from 1969-1983; she served as Director throughout that entire period. She continued with the ACTWU's successor UNITE-HERE working on voter education and senior citizens issues. She served as an advisor to a variety of committees, national and local, related to women's, children's, and family issues, including the National Implementation Task Force of the White House Conference on Families. With honors from the Coalition for Labor Union Women and the National Council of Jewish Women among others she will be remembered as a tireless advocate for children, workers and the underprivileged. She is survived by her daughter Judith Stechert (John), her son Peter Tuteur (Bernadette), granddaughter Rebecca Tuteur, and several generations of loving nieces and nephews. A memorial gathering will be held at The Regency Senior Living Community of Laguna Woods on Thursday, March 17th at 1pm. Interment with military honors will be the following day at Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, CA. In lieu of flowers please donate to a charity of your choice.