NORMAN PEARLMAN

NORMAN PEARLMAN Norman Pearlman, born August 2, 1922 in New York City, was the son of Russian immigrants, Morris and Sarah, and brother of Sydney, Mollie and Rose, who he trailed by 16 years. His family owned, and all worked in the Cuban Model Hand Laundry. At 16, graduating from Townsend Harris High School, he and his class pledged the Ephebic Oath. They promised "I shall not leave my city any less but rather greater than I found it". All who knew Norm would agree that he did his best to leave the world better than he found it. After his BS at City College, Norm left Manhattan for Chicago where he was stationed during WWII to work on the Manhattan Project. There, he met and married Virginia (Ginny) Hirning. Postwar, they moved to Indiana, he received his PHD in physics at Purdue, started a family and his lifelong career as a physics professor. Norm's passions were not limited to the vast world of science - he loved film and started Purdue's long-lived Famous Films Club. His children, Cindi, Ken and Caryll were brought up laughing at the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, Chaplin, Harold Lloyd... they learned to read subtitles in early childhood. Norm's culture was fairness, justice, equal rights, knowledge and social awareness; he was a founding member and frequent officer of the Indiana chapter of the ACLU. He acted on his passions, sharing them with his family, friends and the world. A true gentleman, gracious and loving, he showed respect for everyone he met. He was curious and caring. He touched many. He had a deep love for nature and animals, hiked, biked and travelled throughout his life. Many family summer vacations included a mountain and a tent. He recycled with gusto and he walked or biked to the Purdue physics department daily until he moved to Santa Fe several years ago. Norm treasured the company of his family and friends and lived his life fully. Often, he couldn't chat long - always on his way to a dinner, a jazz club, film, lecture or performance. At 83 he was zip-lining through the jungles of Belize. Music took him on interior journeys. Norm died peacefully at home in Santa Fe on June 28, 2012. His wife Ginny and son Ken are deceased. His daughters, Cindi Pearlman of Tijeras, Caryll Pearlman Blount and son-in-law Brian Blount of Santa Fe, and granddaughter Lexi Pearlman Flores of Albuquerque miss him deeply. His feline companion Bella grieves. To join us at his memorial Sunday, August 12th, please contact Caryll: 505-660-5021.