Dr. Norman Adelman, DMD of Pompano Beach, FL passed away peacefully on Sunday February 3, 2019 with his beloved wife Geraldine (Jeri) O’Hare Adelman by his side. Dr. Adelman was born in New York, NY on February 6, 1916 to Joseph and Yetta Broady Adelman. He grew up in the Lower East Side of Manhattan and New London, CT where his father worked as a machinist in the garment industry. Dr. Adelman graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1937 and Tufts Dental School in 1940.  He married his first wife, Ruth Lewitus Adelman, in Boston, MA on December 7, 1941.

Dr. Adelman enlisted in the Army shortly after his wedding and was assigned to the 1st Medical Battalion of the 1st Infantry Division in Ft. Devens, MA. He was deployed to Europe in August 1942 and participated in the beach invasions in North Africa, Sicily, and Normandy. Dr. Adelman survived some of the fiercest battles of the European front including at Kasserine Pass, Tunisia; Troina, Sicily; Aachen and the Hurtgen Forest in Germany; the Battle of the Bulge; and the Ruhr Pocket in Germany. He contracted malaria in North Africa and was evacuated to a field hospital shortly after the battle of Kasserine Pass. Only a few days after arriving at the hospital, Dr. Adelman unofficially discharged himself and hitched a ride back to the front to rejoin his company in their fight to push the German General Erwin Rommel and his forces out of North Africa.  He completed his duty serving on courts martial in Germany before returning to the U.S. in 1945. Dr. Adelman rose to the rank of Army Captain and was awarded the bronze star for his combat service in North Africa and Europe.

When Dr. Adelman returned to Boston after the war, he met for the first time his three year old son Michael, who was born on December 13, 1942. Dr. Adelman and his family settled in the Washington Square neighborhood in Brookline where he established a successful dental practice. In October 1946 his second son, Richard, was born. In his leisure time, Dr. Adelman enjoyed dancing with Ruth, a professional dance instructor, and playing squash and golf at the Chestnut Hill Country Club, where he was a member. After Ruth tragically passed away in 1970, Dr. Adelman married Geraldine O’Hare Chin in 1971 and became step-father to her children Allen and Leslie. He retired in 1975 and assumed the life of a snowbird, seasonally migrating between Dedham, MA and Pompano Beach, FL until settling permanently in Pompano Beach in 2008.

Dr. Adelman is survived by his wife Jeri; sons Michael Adelman and Allen Chin; daughters Leslie Chin, Suzanne Martel, Sharyn Sandler Adelman, and Janice Sokoloski Adelman; six grandchildren; and nine great grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his first wife Ruth, his son Richard, his sister May, and his brother Irving.

Dr. Adelman was a true patriarch. His life was a story of survival, hard work, success, family, and love. In good health into his early 100’s, Dr. Adelman exemplified a balanced life of work and leisure. While understated and private, he was also warm, welcoming, and accepting of people of all stripes. After his profound sacrifice to the country during World War II, Dr. Adelman spent the rest of his life ensuring that his family was comfortable and well cared for.  His devotion to his “Dearie” Jeri was palpable. They were by each other’s sides through many years of love, life, and loss, and Jeri was next to him when he passed.