Thomas Wolfe Pearlman, Esq., 86

PROVIDENCE – Thomas Wolfe Pearlman, Esq., died April 29. He was the husband of the late Miriam (Vogel) Pearlman, and the son of Israel and Ida (Mines) Pearlman. Pearlman was the father of the late Joshua Pearlman and the late Ann Pearlman. He is survived by his children, Rebecca Pearlman Sy and Roger Pearlman, seven of his 10 siblings and 11 grandchildren. He was a lifetime resident of Providence.

Pearlman graduated from Classical High School, where he was an all-state guard for the football team during his junior and senior years. He attended Brown University and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and, at the end of World War II, he graduated from Amherst College. He then attended Harvard Law School and, immediately after graduating, ran as a Republican for the Rhode Island State Legislature. Pearlman became the first Republican to win a seat in his district in more 30 years, becoming the minority leader. Subsequently, he successfully ran for the Providence City Council and became the minority leader, serving in that capacity for many years. He also had a successful law practice.

Pearlman was very active in the Providence Jewish community, and he was the major benefactor of Providence Hebrew Day School (PHDS) for decades. He was the leading force behind the founding of the New England Academy of Torah (NEAT) and the New England Rabbinical College (NERC). Additionally, he was instrumental in the establishment of the dormitory of the boys’ division of NEAT on Blackstone Boulevard.

At the funeral for Pearlman, Rabbi Eliezer Gibber, Rosh Yeshiva of NERC, commented that the Pearlman home was one of hachnasat orchim, especially to the students who boarded at the New England Academy of Torah. Many recall with great fondness the delicious meals they enjoyed and the divrei Torah that they were required to recit e.

As a respected attorney and political activist, Pearlman worked tirelessly for a Jewry that was decimated in the Holocaust. The Pearlman family understood that Jewish education in the aftermath of the Holocaust equaled Jewish survival and triumph. It was for this reason that the Pearlmans became historic champions of Torah education, not only making PHDS/NEAT the focus of their financial contributions, but also spending countless hours each year cultivating and soliciting new donors for the school.

Rabbi Scheinerman, dean of PHDS remarked, “The Pearlman family has had a profound impact on the school by ensuring its sustainability and standard of excellence in education for many years. Today, as the school continues to grow, we realize that we cannot truly appreciate the magnitude of the legacy of the Pearlman family to PHDS/NEAT and the Providence Jewish community.

On June 15, Providence Hebrew Day School/New England Academy of Torah is dedicating the Lifetime Achievement Tribute to the memory of Thomas and Miriam Pearlman and in honor of the Pearlman family. No award could truly quantify the leadership role that the Pearlman family has held in the Providence community.