Pamela Sheldrick (c. 1950–January 13, 2023) was a feminist activist, bookseller, editor, fitness instructor, and community builder whose life bridged political commitment, cultural work, and deep personal relationships.

Born and raised in the South Bronx, Sheldrick’s early political outlook leaned Republican, a position she later critically reexamined as she became deeply engaged in the feminist movement. That political awakening shaped the rest of her public life. After settling in northern New Jersey, she became a prominent advocate for women’s rights, serving as president of the Morristown chapter of the National Organization for Women and as a board member of Planned Parenthood.

Sheldrick was deeply involved in feminist publishing rooted in Englewood, New Jersey, a hub of her cultural and political work. She served as an editor and reviewer for New Directions for Women, the influential national feminist newspaper headquartered in Englewood from the 1970s through the 1990s, helping elevate feminist scholarship, organizing, and cultural criticism at a moment when such voices were routinely marginalized.

Her commitment to feminist literature took on a lasting public form with Pandora Book Peddlers, the feminist and multicultural bookstore she co-founded and operated for 26 years on Palisade Avenue in Englewood. Widely recognized as one of the few feminist bookstores in the New York metropolitan area, Pandora carried thousands of carefully selected titles—non-sexist, non-racist, and often difficult to find—published largely by small and university presses. More than a retail space, the store functioned as an intellectual commons where students, professors, activists, and local residents gathered to exchange ideas and build community.

Alongside her political and cultural work, Sheldrick sustained a long career in physical wellness. From the mid-1970s through 2016, she taught fitness and Pilates classes and became a well-known and deeply respected instructor at the Madison YMCA and other venues. Her dual commitments to activism and embodied health reflected a holistic understanding of feminism grounded in autonomy, strength, and care.

Sheldrick also wrote poetry, traveled extensively throughout the United States and Europe, and was an avid hiker, particularly in the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. She shared a 50-year marriage with her husband, Mike Sheldrick, celebrating their anniversary in 2021. She was the mother of Rachael, grandmother to Cella and Nick, and sister to Kevin, with whom she shared a close and enduring bond.

Pamela Sheldrick passed away quietly at her home in Morristown at the age of 73. She is remembered as a loving wife, mother, and grandmother, and as a principled, generous presence whose work in Englewood’s feminist publishing and bookselling communities left a lasting imprint on regional and national movements for gender justice.