Bringing Ancient Rome To Life
N
orma Wynick Goldman, 89, of
Fountain Hills, Ariz., a lifelong
educator, died on Oct. 1, 2011,
after a yearlong struggle with cancer.
Mrs. Goldman taught Latin at Wayne
State University in Detroit from 1945-
1991, wrote the textbook that is used in
many freshman university Latin class-
es, Latin via Ovid, and was one of the
founders of the WSU "Soar" program
for senior citizens.
Norma Goldman was a renowned
classical scholar who discovered that
the Colosseum in Rome had a par-
tial canopy over it, shading the sec-
tion where the nobles and emperors
watched the often-gory competitions.
The class she loved to teach the most at
Wayne was "Life in Ancient Rome."
She was an early feminist who tread
fearlessly in a world where most schol-
ars were male. Unlike those vested in
the prevailing ethos of classical schol-
arship, she believed the best way to
learn about the past was to bring it to
life, animate it. She wrote: "The ethic
of my work is to make the classical
world and the people who inhabited
it exciting, whether it is in my writing
for readers or in the classroom for my
students:'
To this end, Norma Goldman was
also a sleuth, who, for instance, studied
IRVING BURKE, 93, of Boca Raton,
Fla., died Sept. 21, 2011.
He is survived by his wife of 70 years,
Dorothy; daughter, Karen (Mickey)
Kurzman; son, Steve (Janine) Burke;
loving grandchildren, Kathy (Rich)
Lewis, Bill (Lauren) Kurzman, Matthew
Kurzman, Jeff (Cheryl) Burke; great-
grandchildren, Jeffrey Lewis, Jake Lewis,
Jared Lewis, Ellis Kurzman and Maesha
Kurzman.
NATALIE (REICH) HALPERN
EICHEN, passed away peacefully in
Minneapolis, Minn., surrounded by her
family on Sept. 24, 2011.
She was an artist, writer, creative
spirit and open to the world.
Born and raised in the Bronx, N.Y.,
she moved to Oak Park in 1955, where
her first husband, Mordecai Halpern,
served as rabbi of Congregation Beth
Shalom until his death in 1972.
Always seeking new experiences,
Natalie returned to graduate school later
in life, studying creative problem solv-
ing. When she and her second husband,
Erwin Eichen, moved from the Detroit
area to Minneapolis in 2005 to be near
family, Natalie participated whole-
ancient Roman dress, by looking at
the sculptures and wall paintings and
then taking out her sewing machine
and actually replicating what she saw.
She did fashion shows
all over the U.S. and
Europe where models
wore her recreations.
Her videotape Let's
Wrap, available
from the American
Classical League,
shares her findings so
anyone can dress like
a Roman goddess.
She also studied the
terracotta oil lamps
of the ancient world,
publishing an exhaus-
tive catalog of most
Norma Goldman
every type that was
made, Cosa, The Lamps. She was work-
ing on a book about ancient Roman
footwear, which is nearly complete.
She was the secretary of the
American Academy of Rome, where she
spent many months every fall, study-
ing. She was so respected there she was
asked to write the history of the acad-
emy. Her book Memoirs of the American
Academy of Rome was published in
2008.
Norma Wynick was born in
Pittsburgh in 1922 and moved to
Detroit with her mother to stay with
relatives in 1938 because her father had
tuberculosis and was in a sanitarium.
The two made their
way, with Norma an
ambitious, undaunt-
able, young woman
who worked many
different jobs to help
support them.
In 1939, she enrolled
at Wayne to study
English, Greek and
Latin, graduating in
1943 with her bach-
elor's and master's
degrees as well as a
teaching certificate.
bti`
She was an office
assistant in the art
history department where she met her
lifelong love, Bernard Goldman, pro-
fessor of art history and also a great
scholar. They were married in 1944
and spent the next 63 years together,
inseparable and equals.
They traveled frequently for their
studies spending time in Iran,
Afghanistan and Pakistan on archaeo-
logical digs. The ancient Near East was
Bernard Goldman's area of expertise.
They did research regularly in Italy, as
well as England, France and Greece,
where they had many friends. Bernard
Goldman died in 2006 before he could
finish the sequel to his first book on
the ancient city of Dura-Europos. The
first being the memoirs of archaeolo-
gist Clark Hopkins and the second of
his wife, Susan. Norma Goldman fin-
ished that book, My Dura Europos: The
Letters of Susan M. Hopkins, and it is
available this month, from the Wayne
State University Press.
Both Norma and Bernard felt it was
important to understand all the sides
to the Dura story — that wife Susan's
remembering of the way they lived,
how they raised their daughter on the
site and how they all participated in the
excavations needed to be told.
Norma Goldman leaves a son, Mark
Goldman, daughter-in-law Carolyn, and
two grandchildren, Liam and Grace
of Phoenix. She adored her son and
grandchildren, bringing to them all her
passion for life and learning.
Interment was in Scottsdale, Ariz.
There will be a memorial service
at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11, at the
Community Arts Auditorium on the
Wayne State University campus in
Detroit. A campus map can be found at
http://www.campusmap.wayne.edu/
location/COMM. II
heartedly in her new community. She
joined the Jewish Women's Art Group in
Minnesota and continued to make art
into her 80s.
Her zest for life, her moxie and sense
of humor, combined with her can-do
attitude and sense of adventure, set a
great example for those around her.
She is survived by her husband, Erwin
Eichen; children, Rani Halpern (Joel
Green), Jonathan Halpern (Gretchen
Young), and Daniel Halpern (Wendy
Goldberg); grandchildren, Tamar Green
(Ben Hofkin), Elan Green, Jeremy,
Hannah, Maya and Noam Halpern;
Erwin's children, Robin Eichen Conn
(Jack), Ellen (Ken) Kroot; and grand-
children, Joshua and Kayla Kroot; sister,
Elaine Rose; other relatives and friends
in Minnesota and Michigan.
She was predeceased by her parents,
Anna and Philip Reich; first husband
Rabbi Mordecai Halpern; brother, Jack
Reich.
Interment in Minnesota.
Contributions may be made to Rabbi
Mordecai S. Halpern Library Fund at
Congregation Beth Shalom, Oak Park, or
to a charity of one's choice.
JUDY ETKIN, 59, of
Farmington Hills, died
Sept. 28, 2011.
She taught many
women to play canasta.
Her volunteer work
included ORT, the Relay
for Life and the Jewish
Etkin
Community Center Book
Fair. She was a co-found-
er of Child and Parent services adoption
agency. She was also active in Kever Avot,
taking elderly from assisted living centers
to visit the graves of loved ones.
She is survived by her husband of 34
years, Harold Etkin; daughters, Nicole Etkin
of Illinois, Jessica Etkin of Colorado and
her fiance, William Monyelle, and Allison
Etkin of California; sisters and brothers-in-
law, Lauren and Alan Koenigsberg, Heidi
and Cary Makrauer and Leslye Wolrauch;
mother, Patricia Davis; mother-in-law, Rita
Etkin; sisters-in-law and brother-in-law,
Johanne and Bill Finley and Helen Etkin; a
world of other family and friends.
Mrs. Etkin was the cherished sister of the
late Cindy Efrate; the devoted daughter of
the late Jack Wolrauch; the loving daughter-
in-law of the late Ben Etkin.
Interment at Clover Hill Park Cemetery.
Contributions may be made to Jewish
Hospice, 6555 W. Maple, West Bloomfield,
MI 48322 or to a charity of one's choice.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
-
ROBERT N.
GABERMAN, 79, of
Findlay, Ohio. died Sept.
26, 2011.
He is survived by his
beloved wife, Roberta;
devoted children, David
(Pam) Gaberman of
Gaberman
West Bloomfield, Lynn
(Michael) Seidman of West Bloomfield,
Ruth (Brad) Swick of Findlay, Ohio;
proud grandchildren, Jacob and Rachel
Gaberman, Jake, Marlee and Kevin
Seidman, Jeremy, Jordan and Bryan Swick;
loving twin brother, Phil Gaberman of
South Salem, N.Y.; sister, Naomi Cohen of
Sarnia, Ontario; loving brother and sisters-
in-law, Elliott and Suzi Kolodin, Elaine
Kaufman.
Interment was held at Beth El Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to
the American Cancer Society or Bridge
Home Health & Hospice, Blanchard
Valley Health System, Findlay, Ohio.
Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.
Obituaries on page 78
Obituaries
October 6 2011
77