Norma Rossman - Was she sent to Pennhurst State School ?

Hi Lucas,

I only know that my aunt Norma was institutionalized at around the age of 17, but I don't know where - somewhere in the Philadelphia area. I haven't heard of Pennhurst. I will ask my aunt Betty if she knows.

Norma, my grandparents' first-born, had been severely brain-damaged at birth by a high-forceps delivery, and was paralyzed and cognitively disabled. My grandparents had cared for her at home up until that point. Someone - my mother, I believe - said that Eleanor Roosevelt intervened on her behalf to find her a placement. Norma died soon after "of a broken heart."

How did you find out about her? Are you researching Pennhurst? Please let me know.

Thanks,
Rob Levy

Lucas - I just looked a little further, and indeed, Norma died at Pennhurst, of bronchial pneumonia, in February 1941, age 17 years, 4 months.