UCSD Benefactor William Perlman Dies at 87

William M. Perlman, a Russian-born lawyer who became a La Jolla philanthropist and active supporter of UC San Diego, died of heart failure Thursday at UCSD Medical Center. He was 87.

Perlman died at a hospital, where the Ambulatory Care Center is named for him and his wife, Edith, for their contributions to the center. The Perlmans also established an endowed chair in their name in clinical cardiology at the UCSD School of Medicine.

Perlman was born in Minsk, Russia, and emigrated to New York when 18 months old.

He attended City College of New York and the law schools of St. Lawrence University, New York University and St. John’s University.

After 18 years of private law practice in New York beginning in 1927, Perlman served as assistant general counsel for the War Assets Administration from 1945 to 1947 and New York regional counsel for the U.S. Renegotiation Board from 1951 to 1961. He then resumed private practice and retired in 1975.

The Perlmans moved to La Jolla in 1977 and became involved in UCSD activities. They were charter members of the UCSD Institute for Research on Aging, and William Perlman was director of the Institute. They also tutored foreign graduate students in the English language.

Edith Perlman, who married her husband in 1952, died in 1991.