Norma Tulgan

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Norma Propp Tulgan died on Friday, November 18, 2016, after a lengthy period of ill health at Berkshire Place, where she had been a resident since August 2015.

She was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., the only child of Attorney Perry S. Propp and Rosalie Lepow Propp. She was a gold medal graduate of Erasmus Hall High School and attended Vassar College her Freshman Year, transferring to Barnard College when she joined her husband while he was in medical school and from which she graduated and where she became a member of the Athena Society.

For four years the Tulgans resided in Albany, N.Y., while her husband continued his medical training and where Norma was employed as a Civil Service test examination writer for the State of New York. A resident of Pittsfield since 1962, she earned her M.Ed. from North Adams State College and taught at the former Rice School and at Berkshire Country Day School and the former DeSisto School. With the late Iris Schwartz, she developed an SAT Preparatory Course taught in their homes to dozens of high school students and also at Darrow School and North Adams State College until health issues caused her to have to stop her activities. They also called an end to her love of travel and participation in her beloved book club.

She was a member of Temple Anshe Amunim and its Sisterhood. She was also a member of its Religious School Committee. Norma was a lifetime member of Hadassah and had been a member of the Junior League of Pittsfield and served as a Board Member of the Berkshire Art Association.

Survivors besides her husband of 62 years, Dr. Henry Tulgan, are her sons, James Propp Tulgan and his partner Debbie McGivern of Pittsfield and Bruce Lorin Tulgan and his wife Dr. Debby Applegate of New Haven, Conn., and daughter, Dr. Ronna T. Ostheimer and her husband Thomas W. Ostheimer of Williamstown; five grandchildren, Elisa Rose Tulgan and Joseph Perry Tulgan of Pompano Beach, Fla., Perry Elizabeth Ostheimer and Erin Rosalie Ostheimer of New York City and Garret Elias Ostheimer of Williamstown.

Funeral notice: Funeral services directed by Flynn and Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals will be held on Monday, November 21, 2016, at 1 p.m. at Temple Anshe Amunim followed by burial in the Temple Cemetery. Shiva will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at 25 Palomino Drive, Pittsfield, on Monday evening.

The Tulgan Family wishes to express thanks to the Staff of Berkshire Place and to Hospice Care in the Berkshires for their devoted care. Contributions in Norma's memory may be sent to a charity of the donor's choice.